Preventive Maintenance; Cleaning The Read/Write Heads - HP A3542A User Manual

Preventive maintenance

The tape drive requires regular preventive maintenance, which consists of cleaning the tape drive's read/
write heads with a cleaning cartridge. Clean the heads regularly and also any time the Clean/Attention LED
is flashing.
The frequency of cleaning varies according to how much the tape drive is used. See the following table:
Number of DDS Cartridges
Used Each Day
Cleaning Interval
Note It is better to clean the tape heads regularly than to wait for the Clean/Attention
LED to flash amber. By the time the signal appears, the performance of the tape
drive may already be diminished.

Cleaning the read/write heads

The read/write heads must be free of contamination for proper tape-to-head contact. Clean the heads when
the data errors or retries increase in number. These can be checked by accessing the system logs or using the
diagnostics and targeting the tape drive.
Use only a Hewlett-Packard Cleaning Cartridge (part number HP92283K). Do not use liquids, swabs, or any
other method.
1. Insert the cleaning cartridge into the drive.
2. The tape drive loads the cartridge automatically and cleans the heads. Cleaning takes about 30 sec-
onds.
3. At the end of the cycle, the drive ejects the cleaning cartridge.
4. Write the date on the cartridge label. Discard the cleaning cartridge after using it 50 times.
Note If the cleaning cartridge ejects in less than 20 seconds, it has probably expired.
Replace the cleaning cartridge.
If the tape drive does not automatically eject the cleaning cartridge and the
Clean/Attention LED flashes, the clean cartridge has expired. Eject and discard
the cleaning cartridge. Repeat the cleaning procedure with a new cleaning
cartridge.
Service
1 2
8 weeks 4 weeks
3 4+
3 weeks weekly
3-3