Dev rescues '80s text adventure source code by baking tapes in an oven

[JamesD]

"Source code for a number of early text adventures released by Magnetic Scrolls has reportedly been recovered after tape cassettes holding the only known backups were baked in a 45-degree (Celsius) oven for about eight hours.

..."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/300763/Dev_rescues_80s_text_adventure_source_code_by_baking_tapes_in_an_oven.php

[mr_me]

That was interesting. According to this article, some tape manufacturer's poor tape formulation causes some breakdown with moisture absorption. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticky-shed_syndrome

The tape messes up the drive mechanism requiring cleaning. Storing in a dry environment can temporarily fix the tape, baking speeds up the process. Some manufacturer's tapes don't have this problem and should be more reliable. The other problem is finding the hardware and software to read the tape.

[Papa_Bear]

Really bizarre way to restore the tapes but I'm glad it worked out.! Never thought baking a tape would make them work better. hah

[JamesD]

Well, they didn't bake them at a high temp, just high enough to dry them out.

I seem to remember hearing about someone doing this back in the late 80s, but I don't remember the details.

[+thegoldenband]

This is 100% standard practice for tape stock from certain decades and manufacturers. Oddly enough it's rarely (if ever) needed for tape stock that's older than about 1975, IIRC; manufacturers like Ampex changed their formulation sometime around then, and this was the result.

 

Glad it worked out for these developers! Recovering source code from vintage games is always a great thing.

[Nukey Shay]

I seem to remember hearing about someone doing this back in the late 80s, but I don't remember the details.

Boston? - to recover the master of "Cool Your Engines"?