Handling Cartridges; Getting The Most Out Of Cartridges And Drives - HP StorageWorks DAT 72 User Manual

1. Insert a cleaning cartridge into the drive. The tape drive automatically loads the cartridge and
cleans the heads.
At the end of the cleaning cycle, the drive ejects the cartridge. The cleaning cycle takes
approximately 30-60 seconds.
HP StorageWorks DAT 40 and 24 drives: If the cleaning cartridge ejects in less than 20 seconds,
it has probably expired. In this case, discard the cleaning cartridge and repeat the operation
with a new one.
HP StorageWorks DAT 72 drives: If the cleaning cartridge is not ejected, it has probably
expired. In this case, press the Eject button, discard the cleaning cartridge and repeat the
operation with a new one.
2. Remove the cleaning cartridge from the drive.
The drive's TapeAlert feature will send a message to your backup application when the tape
heads need cleaning or a cleaning cartridge has expired.

Handling cartridges

• Do not touch the tape media.
• Do not attempt to clean the tape path or tape guides inside the cartridge.
• Do not leave cartridges in excessively dry or humid conditions. Do not leave cartridges in direct
sunlight or in places where magnetic fields are present (for example, under telephones, next to
monitors or near transformers).
• Do not drop cartridges or handle them roughly.
• Do not stick more than one label onto the cartridge label area; extra labels can cause the
cartridges to jam in the drive. Stick labels onto the label area only.
• See the insert included with the tape cartridge for storage conditions.

Getting the most out of cartridges and drives

• Use mostly the matching media type (DAT 72 media for HP StorageWorks DAT 72, DDS-4
media for HP StorageWorks DAT 40).
• Use media for the recommended number of times (DAT 72 and DDS-4=100 full backups).
Overuse of the tape will cause it to degrade and possibly shed tape debris in the drive. Too
many new tapes can also cause wear of the drive as they are rougher than used ones.
• Do not verify (DDS does read-after-write checking automatically).
• Do not overload the server during backups. Maximize the transfer rate (run overnight with no
other processes) and use incremental backups if convenient.
• Do not overuse your tape drive—it is designed for approximately three hours of tape pulling per
day, not constant usage—and clean the drive regularly. See page 32.
• If you want to bulk erase cartridges, this should be done in a controlled environment. You need
to make sure there are no other cartridges with sensitive information on them anywhere near the
bulk eraser when in use. All data will be lost on cartridges that are bulk erased.
HP StorageWorks DAT Tape Drives User Guide 33