To facilitate converting real tapes to virtual tapes, Avanti includes the mktape.exe utility in the Avanti installation folder. Mktape requires a Windows system with a SCSI controller and compatible SCSI tape drive to read OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX generated tapes. This physical-tape procedure is retained as historical service guidance and has not been revalidated for the 5.1.0 release. Run it from an elevated command prompt when access to the physical tape device requires administrator rights.

To create a tape image file from a real tape using mktape, open a command window and enter a command similar to the following:

"C:\Program Files\MSI Digital Emulator Collection\mktape.exe" \\.\tape0 "%USERPROFILE%\Documents\tape1.vtape"

This example uses the default installation folder and the current user's existing Documents directory. If Avanti was installed elsewhere, use the mktape.exe beside dec.exe. The first argument, \\.\tape0, is the Windows tape-device path. The second argument is the virtual-tape output file; its output directory must already exist. Mktape stages the copy in that directory and replaces an existing output file without prompting only after the tape copy completes successfully. Preserve an existing file first if you need to retain it.