Re: Restoring source

[MacWheel99@xxxxxxx]

From Al Macintyre

You may be about out of luck - you certainly exhausting my ideas.

>   Device TAP05 had an equipment check.    
You might cursor F1 on this part of the log & see if any more info, then 
WRKPRB F6 but I am not very hopeful it will take you anywhere constructive

Do you have any other backups you can get to not quite as current as this ... 
how long ago are we talking modifications since that are at risk of loss?  Do 
yuu have any  documentation external to the program that outlines what you 
did, so you not entirely have to reinvent the wheel?  

Although we hurting for disk space, we fortunately can afford to do a variety 
of types of backups on-line of source changes ... one library has the old 
version of some modification right before a new version goes in, so that if 
some problem comes up that the testing missed, the users have a library list 
adjustment solution to recover the prior version.  We also periodically copy 
a source library file (obviously not often enough given what happened to you) 
to another library, when there have been a high volume of changes since the 
last time we made this copy.

There was another thread on MIDRANGE-L not so long ago about recovering data 
from a tape backup in which someone had saved something, then saved something 
again on top of the previous backup & someone gave a lead to some IBM service 
which for some $$$$$ IBM technicians can work their magic.

Perhaps at a lower level of $$$ some tape technician could examine the media 
& speculate about its physical condition ... I am thinking that a slower 
speed tape drive might be able to handle something that won't get past a 
higher speed tape drive.  Sometimes I can look through the plastic of tape 
cartridge & see if it looks normal or how serious in trouble.

Years & Years ago I saw stuff in the trade press about reverse-engineering 
software, which has kind of fallen out of popularity due to the illegality 
aspects.  The theory was that a program compiled into machine language is 
doing something that can be analysed, then source code derived that will do 
the same thing, that might not be exactly the same as the original.  

The topic comes up from time to time when someone needs to do a conversion & 
no longer has the original source code, but I do not know if this is even 
possible with the type of architecture we have today.  The only thing of a 
comparable nature that I have seen in recent years is a PC based scripting 
tool used in testing software enhancements ... it simulates human keystrokes 
so each test can be identical to the last test from an inputs perspective.

There is a very slim remote chance that cleaning the tape drive might make a 
difference.  I sometimes have error messages claiming something is wrong with 
my tape drive, which I assume to be really a problem with the tape media, 
expecially when it processes some other tape without a complaint, then I do a 
tape cleaning & it reads the first tape without a whimper.

If the tape is only slightly damaged, perhaps some other AS/400 site in your 
geographical community can read the tape, and make a copy of the data onto a 
better quality tape.  Sometimes tapes are like diskettes, sensitive to the 
drive.  Although our new 170 can process larger capacity tapes than our old 
436, the old 436 could process a lot of tapes that give the new 170 
indigestion.  

You might ask your hardware support (or local AS/400 user group) if they have 
another customer whose tape drive would be willing to help you out ,,, in 
Evansville Indiana, our hardware support people KSAI know who has what kinds 
of equipment & the old boys network (I am age 55 & most of these folks are 
younger than me) routinely copy stuff from customer site to customer site.

Have you tried DMPTAP?  Thiis data is Greek to me ... correction, I can 
figure most of it out but do not want to have to.  I have a couple of 
theories that might not hold water.
1. RESTORE vs. DMPTAP vs. DSPTAP vs. other ways of trying to read data off 
the tape give it different levels of work outs, so stuff you cannot get at 
one way might not have the problem going after it another way.
2. DUMP is showing us contents of the data to a granular level that most 
people are not interested in, but if we can get at the pieces, some software 
might be able to reassemble them.

GO TAPE & GO CMDTAP to see if there are any other options I forgot.

> Subj:  RE: Restoring source
>  From:    wawrzaszeka@AUSTEEL.com (Angela Wawrzaszek(EXCH))
>  
>  Okay I have the job log, so I am back to square one, I believe the tape is
>  damaged, so I need to know if there is another way to get the info off this
>  tape, or a way to get the source back from the object on an rpg program
>  because the last source file we have does not have the most recent mods 
that
>  we did on it, and I didn't want to have to re-create them all.
>  
>  The tape drive is not damaged.  We use it every night.

>   RSTOBJ OBJ(QRPGSRC) SAVLIB(BPCSMODSRC) DEV(TAP05) 
>   SEQNBR(69) FILEMBR((QRPGSRC (BIL522))) MBROPT(*ALL) 
>   ALWOBJDIF(*ALL) RSTLIB(QTEMP) OUTPUT(*PRINT)   
>   Device TAP05 had an equipment check.                                      
 
>   FILE QRPGSRC in QTEMP not restored.                                       
 
>   System object TAP05 partially damaged. Internal dump ID . Error class 0,  
 
>     device number X'0000'.                                                  
 
>   Condition of source/sink object TAP05 not valid.                          
 
>   No objects saved or restored; 0 objects not included.                     
 
>   Save or restore operation ended unsuccessfully.                           
 

>  Angie Wawrzaszek
>  M.I.S. Department

>  -----Original Message-----
 
>  From Al Macintyre  

< snip > ... various discussed in some detail
>  BPCS-L  
>  PDM-54 
>  TAPW ... cursor on the column    F1
>  Getting into a job log & exploding the detail
>  Security problems in BPCS for Master Security Officer
>  
>  >  From:    wawrzaszeka@AUSTEEL.com (Angela Wawrzaszek(EXCH))

< snip >
>  >  But it is just sitting there on TAPW.
>  >      
>  >    CD15S2       QSECOFR     INT      .0  CMD-RSTOBJ       TAPW   
>  >  
>  >       And I did a dsptap and the file shows, and is on seq 69.

>  >  -----Original Message-----

>  >  [mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of MacWheel99@aol.com

< snip >
>  >  You did not say what the error was 
>  >  
>  >  I normally do my tape manipulations from the OS/400 command line.
>  >  CALL QCMD then F10 gives me my job log 
>  >  at the same time as more commands
>  >  Place the cursor on error message on screen or on job log then F1
>  >  This takes me to 2nd level help detail explanation of the error message

>  >  >  From:    wawrzaszeka@AUSTEEL.com (Angela Wawrzaszek(EXCH))
>  >  >  
>  >  >  --------------------
>  >  >  I have a source file that I need to restore 
>  >  >  from that last system save.
>  >  >  Something appears to wrong either with the tape or the source.  
>  >  >  I was able  to restore 2 other files after several attempts
>  >  >  but this one keeps ending in
>  >  >  error, or just plan saying it couldn't find it, none restored. 
>  >  >  If I dsptap I can see it.  
>  >  >  Does any one know any way to get this info off or another way
>  >  >  to restore this source file?  
>  >  >  We tried to dup the tape and it won't  let us.
>  >  >  We only have the source code from an earlier system save 
>  >  >  but many changes
>  >  >  occurred since then, and I really hate to redo all the changes, 
>  >  >  in case  I  miss some.

Al Macintyre  ©¿©

Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.
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