Chapter 4 Cleaning the Cartridge Tape Drive

Figure 4–1 Cleaning Cartridge

4.3Exercising the Cartridge Tape Drive

You might find it useful to perform the procedure described in this section if either of the following two situations exists:

Application software is reporting abnormal data errors when reading or writing to the cartridge tape drive with a known good tape cartridge.

The cartridge tape drive has been stored for six months or more, and you get a large number of data errors when you begin using the drive.

This procedure thoroughly exercises the tape drive and thus ensures that the drive’s internal lubrication is properly distributed:

1.Apply power to the tape drive. This is accomplished by applying power to the storage subsystem that houses the drive (i.e., drive expansion pedestal or desktop expansion unit). The drive performs its power-on initialization and self-test (POST). Assuming that no data cartridge is loaded and that the tape drive is connected correctly, POST takes about 30 seconds as follows:

During the first part of POST, all three LEDs will be lit.

During the second part of POST, the top amber LED will be lit and the middle and bottom LEDs may flash, depending on whether the drive is connected to the SCSI bus and a data cartridge is loaded.

NOTES

Do not insert a data cartridge into the tape drive while POST is occurring because the drive will automatically eject it.

If the top amber LED does not go out after the power-on initialization and self-test are complete, an error has occurred. Contact your vendor.

Order Number: EK–STWCT–UG. E01

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