8 Troubleshooting
In this chapter:
•
•
Optimizing performance (page 30)
•
Problems with cartridges (page 31)
General procedure
If a problem occurs, the first step is to try to establish whether the problem lies with the cartridge, the drive, the host computer
and connections, or the way the system is being operated.
Has the system just been installed?
There could be an installation problem:
1.
Check through the information in the relevant installation chapter of this guide.
2.
Has the system booted? If not, check that all hard disks are correctly seated in the hard disk bay and then check the cabling
between the disks and the SAS controller.
3.
Has the system booted but the operating system has not seen the tape drive? Check that the drive has power, the READY
light should be illuminated. If it is not, check that the power cable is connected correctly to the tape drive. If READY is
illuminated, check the cabling between the tape drive and the SAS controller.
4.
Are appropriate drivers and application software installed on the host?
5.
Check the environmental conditions against the specified limits.
Table 6 Environmental specifications for LTO tape drives
Non-condensing humidity range
Temperature range
20 to 80% RH (non-condensing)
50° to 95° F (10° to 40° C) at a minimum
of 6 CFM airflow
Operating
10 to 95% RH (non-condensing)
–40° to 151° F (–40° to 66° C)
Storage
Are you using new cartridges or a different brand of cartridge? Have you been using the particular cartridge for a very long
time?
The problem could lie with the cartridge:
1.
Check through the media chapter, Use the correct media (page 25).
2.
Check that you are using an Ultrium cartridge. Compatible media can be recognized by the LTO logo, which is the same
as the logo on the front of your drive.
3.
Use the correct media type, for example:
•
Ultrium 6.25 TB RW and Ultrium 6.25 TB WORM tape cartridges for use with LTO–6 tape drives.
•
Ultrium 3 TB RW and Ultrium 3 TB WORM tape cartridges for use with LTO–5 tape drives.
•
Ultrium 1.6 TB RW and Ultrium 1.6 TB WORM tape cartridges for use with LTO–4 tape drives.
•
Ultrium 800 GB RW and Ultrium 800 GB WORM tape cartridges for use with LTO–3 tape drives.
4.
Has the cartridge been write protected? See Write protecting cartridges (page 26).
5.
Clean the tape heads with the cleaning cartridge, see Cleaning cartridges (page 26). Make sure you are using the Ultrium
Universal Cleaning Cartridge.
6.
Try the operation again.
7.
If the problem still occurs, try using a different cartridge.
8.
If the problem is still there, the problem probably lies with the drive or the host computer.
Has the drive been moved recently? Have any cables been disconnected and reconnected? Has the environment
changed—unusually hot, cold, damp or dry? Has there been dust or dirt near the drive. Have reasonable precautions against
static been taken?
StorageTek LTO Half-Height SAS Tape Drive
29
