Abstract
Rescuing data from inaccessible or damaged storage media for the purpose of preserving the digital data for the long term is one of the dimensions of digital archaeology. With the current pace of technological development, any system can become obsolete in a matter of years and hence the data stored in a specific storage media might not be accessible anymore due to the unavailability of the system to access the media. In order to preserve digital records residing in such storage media, it is necessary to extract the data stored in those media by some means.One early storage medium for home computers in the 1980s was audio tape. The first home computer systems allowed the use of standard cassette players to record and replay data. Audio cassettes are more durable than old home computers when properly stored. Devices playing this medium (i.e. tape recorders) can be found in working condition or can be repaired, as they are usually made out of standard components. By re-engineering the format of the waveform and the file formats, the data on such media can then be extracted from a digitised audio stream and migrated to a non-obsolete format.In this paper we present a case study on extracting the data stored on an audio tape by an early home computer system, namely the Philips Videopac+ G7400. The original data formats were re-engineered and an application was written to support the migration of the data stored on tapes without using the original system. This eliminates the necessity of keeping an obsolete system alive for enabling access to the data on the storage media meant for this system. Two different methods to interpret the data and eliminate possible errors in the tape were implemented and evaluated on original tapes, which were recorded 20 years ago. Results show that with some error correction methods, parts of the tapes are still readable even without the original system. It also implies that it is easier to build solutions while original systems are still available in a working condition.
Highlights
With storage media technology constantly changing, devices for reading certain media become obsolete
In this paper we present a case study on extracting the data stored on an audio tape by an early home computer system, namely the Philips Videopac+ G7400
In this paper we present a methodology and an application we developed that allows us to retrieve data written by the Philips G7400 home computer system without access to the original system
Summary
With storage media technology constantly changing, devices for reading certain media become obsolete. As devices that could read and write audio tapes were readily available in most households for recording and playing music, some home computer systems featured connectors for the headphone and microphone jacks of such audio systems that could be used to store and retrieve data. The tape was played back on the audio device and the audio waveform was read by the computer system through the headphone connector. To retrieve the data from such storage media today we need access to the original system, a tape drive and a person with the knowledge of handling the original system. In this paper we present a methodology and an application we developed that allows us to retrieve data written by the Philips G7400 home computer system without access to the original system.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.