Using Claude Code to modernize a forgotten Linux kernel driver
As a bit of background, one of my hobbies is helping people recover data from old tape cartridges, such as QIC-80 tapes, which were a rather popular backup medium in the 1990s among individuals, small businesses, BBS operators, and the like. I have a soft spot for tape media; there’s something about the tactile sensation of holding these tapes in my hands that makes the whole process very joyful, even though QIC tapes are notorious for their many design flaws. With some careful inspection and reconditioning, the data on these tapes is still totally recoverable, even after all these years. Whenever I receive a QIC-80 tape for recovery, I power up one of my older PC workstations which has the appropriate tape drive attached to it, and boot into a very old version of Linux (namely…
