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Incorrect handling or an incorrect environment can damage cartridges or their
magnetic tape. To avoid damage to your tape cartridges and to ensure the
continued high reliability of your IBM LTO Ultrium tape drives, use the following
guidelines.
Provide training
v Post procedures that describe proper media handling in places where people
gather.
v Make sure that anyone who handles tape has been properly trained in handling
and shipping procedures. This includes operators, users, programmers, archival
services, and shipping personnel.
v Ensure that any service or contract personnel who perform archiving are
properly trained in media-handling procedures.
v Include media-handling procedures as part of any services contract.
v Define and make personnel aware of data recovery procedures.
Provide proper acclimation and environmental conditions
v Before using a cartridge, let it acclimate to the normal operating environment for
1 hour. If condensation is visible on the cartridge, wait an additional hour.
v Make sure that all surfaces of a cartridge are dry before inserting it.
v Do not expose the cartridge to moisture or direct sunlight.
v Do not expose recorded or blank cartridges to stray magnetic fields of greater
than 100 oersteds (for example, terminals, motors, video equipment, X-ray
equipment, or fields that exist near high-current cables or power supplies). Such
exposure can cause the loss of recorded data or make the blank cartridge
unusable.
v Maintain the conditions that are described in "Environmental and shipping
specifications for tape cartridges" on page 47.
Inspect the cartridge
Before using the cartridge, perform the following steps:
v Inspect the cartridge packaging to determine potential rough handling.
v When inspecting a cartridge, open only the cartridge door. Do not open any
other part of the cartridge case. The upper and lower parts of the case are held
together with screws; separating them destroys the usefulness of the cartridge.
v Inspect the cartridge for damage before using or storing it.
v Inspect the rear of the cartridge (the part that loads first into the tape load
compartment) and make sure that there are no gaps in the seam of the cartridge
case. If there are gaps in the seam, the leader pin might be dislodged. Go to
Appendix D, "Repairing a cartridge," on page 65.
v Check that the leader pin is properly seated (see Figure 16 on page 66).
v If you suspect that the cartridge has been mishandled but it appears usable,
copy any data onto a good cartridge immediately for possible data recovery.
Discard the mishandled cartridge.
v Review handling and shipping procedures.
Handle the cartridge carefully
v Do not drop the cartridge. If the cartridge is dropped, slide the cartridge door
back and make sure that the leader pin is properly seated in the pin-retaining
Chapter 4. Using Ultrium media
45
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