Cleaning The Tape Drive; Troubleshooting - IBM 160 GB DLTV4 Installation And User Manual

heads. Other environmental factors that adversely affect tape drive operation are
dirt, dust, fibers, and airborne particles. Make sure that the tape drive operates in a
clean environment.

Cleaning the tape drive

Even if the operating environment is clean, dirt might build up on the heads of the
tape drive. Every time tape motion occurs, some of the media surface comes off on
the heads. Over time, this material builds up, causing the tape head clearance to
increase. The increased tape head clearance produces reading and writing errors.
Use only DLT VS1 cleaning cartridges with this tape drive. Other cleaning cartridges
will not load and run.
A cleaning cartridge is supplied with the tape drive. Use it only when the clean LED
is flashing or a system I/O error occurs, whichever occurs first. To clean the tape
drive, follow the cleaning instructions in "Using a cleaning cartridge" on page 11.
When a cleaning cartridge is expired, you must replace it. Never reuse an expired
cleaning cartridge. If you continue to use an expired cleaning cartridge, it
reintroduces dirt to the tape drive and does not properly clean the tape drive. To
make sure that you know when the cleaning cartridge expires, make a notation on
the cleaning cartridge each time you clean the tape drive.

Troubleshooting

The first step in problem solving is establishing whether the problem is in the
cartridge, the tape drive, the host server and its connections, the backup software,
or the way the system is being operated. Check http://www.ibm.com/support/ for
information about the tape drive.
14
160/320 GB DLTV4 Tape Drive: Installation and User's Guide
Problem
The server starts, but it does
not recognize the tape drive.
The backup and restore
application does not
recognize the tape drive.
Possible reason
The power or SATA cable is
not connected correctly.
The backup and restore
application does not support
the tape drive.
Some applications require
that specific device drivers be
installed.
Suggested action
Make sure that the cables to
the tape drive are firmly
connected. Make sure that
the SATA cable does not
have any bent pins.
See the documentation for
the backup application.
Make sure that the correct
SATA and tape drive device
drivers are installed. See the
instructions in the device
driver folder of the
Documentation CD.