Forcing ejection

If you press the Eject button when the autoloader is busy, it may be a long time before the autoloader will respond to the request because it will finish the task it is performing first. However, if you need to unload a cartridge urgently, even at the risk of losing data, you must force ejection.

Caution You can lose data if you force ejection. The tape may also end up invalidly formatted because an EOD (End of Data) mark might not be written. Force ejection only as a last resort to recover a cartridge.

1Hold the Eject button down for at least five seconds (usually between 5 and 10 seconds).

2The autoloader responds as follows:

•The front panel display will show "Force Eject."

•The autoloader waits 35 seconds to give the normal eject procedure a chance to occur.

•Once this time has elapsed, if there is a cartridge loaded in the drive it is immediately unloaded, regardless of what operation the drive was performing. The cartridge is then returned to its slot in the magazine, and the drive is reset as though the power had been cycled.

Because the forced ejection may interrupt any operation, it is possible that the drive will not write an EOD (End of Data) mark before the cartridge is ejected. This will cause loss of data and leave the cartridge with an invalid format.

•If no cartridge is loaded in the drive, the autoloader assumes that you want to eject the magazine. Following the 35-second pause, it does this. The autoloader is then reset as though power had been cycled.

Note A forced ejection will abort any SCSI operations that may be in progress on the autoloader and overrides any SCSI PREVENT MEDIA REMOVAL in effect.

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