4
Cleaning the Cartridge Tape Drive
This chapter describes how to use the cleaning cartridge to clean the tape heads and tape path of the StorageWorks 8505 8mm Cartridge Tape Drive .
The heads and tape path of the StorageWorks 8505 8mm Cartridge Tape Drive should be cleaned on a regular basis. The only cleaning material recommended for use with the tape drive is an approved 8mm cleaning cartridge. (Additional cleaning cartridges can be ordered as described on page viii, in the "About This Guide" section of this document.)
Except for cleaning, as described in Section 4.1 and 4.2, the tape drive needs no preventive maintenance or user serviceable adjustments. If an excessive number of errors begin occurring, however, you may find the procedure described in Section 4.3 useful.
CAUTION
Using cloth swabs, cotton swabs, cleaning agents, or cleaning cartridges is not recommended and will void the warranty on the tape drive.
4.1Determining When the Tape Drive Needs Cleaning
You should clean the tape drive’s heads and tape path after every 30 hours of tape motion. This cleaning frequency does not depend on the format in which you write and read data. However, if you are using the tape drive in a particularly dirty environment, or if you operate it infrequently, you may want to clean the tape drive more often than every 30 hours of tape motion. Cleaning the tape drive helps ensure that it will perform according to its specifications.
The tape drive keeps track of tape motion hours internally. When 30 hours of tape motion have elapsed, the top and bottom LEDs will flash rapidly and the middle LED will flash irregularly, depending on SCSI bus activity. For best results, clean the tape drive as soon as possible after the LEDs begin flashing.
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