Protect Your Valuable Information

Applied Information Sciences Corp. has combined its expertise in consulting along with its extensive experiences in the world of conversions to form the AIS Conversion and Data Recovery Division.  This marriage is invaluable to corporations that  have data stored on magnetic tapes in storage.  Over time, these data may become irretrievable due to decomposition of the media itself, the host computer is no longer available (not working, nonexistent, no longer supported by the manufacturer, etc.), the originating personnel are no longer available, or the data format is simply unknown.

Tape Deterioration Is a Known Problem

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Regulations states:

1. “Agencies shall annually read a statistical sample of all reels of magnetic computer tape containing permanent and unscheduled record to identify any loss of data and to discover and correct the causes of data loss.  In tape libraries with 1800 or fewer reels, a 20% sample or a sample size of 50 reels, whichever is larger, should be read.  In tape libraries with more than 1800 reels, a sample of 384 reels should be read. 

2. Agencies shall copy permanent or unscheduled data on magnetic tapes before the tapes are 10 years old onto tested and verified new tapes. “

The Wisconsin Historical Society Archives states that

1. “No electronic media is considered archival.  Magnetic tapes is considered to have a maximum life of ten years if properly and optimally maintained and stored.

2. It is strongly advised that information stored on any electronic media be periodically checked for readability.”

It is critical for a corporation that has important data on magnetic tapes to bring these data to a level that will remain accessible for a long time. The effective transfer of these data requires a company that understands all media and file formats and can select the best approach that will easily meet your future needs. 

That is why AIS has brought together consulting and data conversion. AIS has the proven experience and expertise to guide and perform all aspects of the conversion process. There may be data that are no longer needed by the corporation, or that are in need of clarification. For databases, tables will need to be extracted to make them accessible.  Some files may even be under password control and the passwords are no longer known.  Some tapes may have already deteriorated and need special handling to extract the data.

If you have important data on magnetic tapes that are over 5 years old, don’t delay. Contact AIS and protect your valuable information.

Media Supported

¼” Data cartridges, ¼” tape backups, 4 mm Dat tapes, DLT’s, 8mm tapes,, ½” Magnetic tapes, ½” IBM tape cartridges, CD-ROM, Removable drives (SyQuest, Iomega ZIP & Jaz, HP3000 tapes, Wang tapes and more.