IBM T200F manual Persistent Errors

Persistent Errors

When errors occur that prevent tape operation, they are reported persistently until the problem is cleared. For medium-related errors (usually reported with a Sense Key of 3), the error is reported until the cartridge is successfully unloaded. For hardware-related errors (usually reported with a Sense Key of 4), the error is reported until the drive successfully performs a power-on self test. These persistent errors are only reported on those commands that are eligible for deferred Check Condition reporting (see Table 1 on page 5). The error may or may not be reported as Deferred.

88Ultrium Internal Tape Drive and 3580 Ultrium Tape Drive: SCSI Reference