Terminate
the drive correctly.
Clean the drive.
Use recommended new media.
If this was not successful then call for
service
Terms and Expressions
Power Cycle
Using the power switch on the device, turn off the power, wait for 10 seconds, and
then turn the power back on.
How to check for expired cleaning tape
If all of the media is on the right-hand spool, the cleaning cartridge has
expired
. It is
highly recommended that the checkbox label is used to keep a tally of each clean.
The life of the cartridge is approximately 50 uses.
How to check for bad media
Check for the DDS logo and use only tape cartridges that carry the DDS logo. Please
visit our
media page
for more information.
Environmental considerations
Because of the intimate contact between the heads and the media, dust or airborne
contaminants can affect the reliability of your backup. Humidity of the usage or
storage environment can have a particularly severe effect on the media.
Worst of all is the result of moving the media out of a cool storage area into a warm,
humid usage environment. A microscopic film of condensation will form on the
surface of the media and this will usually cause the tape surface to stick to the
smooth surface of the head-drum assembly.
Another common hazard for the drive is printer toner. Toner is a finely milled
compound of carbon, ferrous metal and styrene plastic. Usually there is some toner in
the atmosphere near a Laser Printer. If the printer is in close proximity to the Tape
Drive, toner can get within the contact area of the spinning heads and the media. This
will very quickly destroy a tape drive.
Other airborne particulants include cleaning sprays and chemical gasses, these will
also destroy a drive and media.
Troubleshooting, Tape Drive
file:///D|/ADMIN_~1/eng/trouble/trouble4.htm (18 of 19) [5/3/2000 3:34:30 PM]
