5
40
Operating Your Tape Drive
This chapter describes how to operate your tape drive.
Topics in this chapter are:
•“Using the Appropriate Media” on page 40
•“Handling Cartridges” on page 41
•“Loading a Cartridge” on page 42
•“Unloading a Cartridge” on page 43
•“Write-Protecting a DDS Cartridge” on page 44
•“Cleaning the Tape Heads” on page45
Using the Appropriate Media
The Seagate DDS-4 and DAT 72 drives use data-grade DDS cartridges, which comply with ANSI
specifications listed in the “3.81 mm Helical-Scan Digital Computer Tape Cartridge for Information
Interchange,” ANSI X3B5/89-156 standard.
For optimum performance and maximum storage capacity, use MRS tape cartridges that correspond
to the format supported by your drive (see Table 6 on page 41). MRS cartridges have a series of
alternate opaque and clear stripes at the beginning of the tape. These stripes classify the media as
data-grade.