Choosing Tapes For Your Tape Drive; Erasing Tapes - HP C5644A - SureStore Travan T4i Tape Drive User Manual

Choosing Tapes for Your Tape Drive

Your HP SureStore T4 tape drive is compatible with several types of tape cartridge:


High-capacity Travan 4 (TR-4) mini-cartridge (QIC-3095 format), one of which is
supplied with the tape drive. This is the normal tape cartridge you should use for
your backup data. See page A-4 for part numbers and ordering information.


HP Colorado 5 GB mini-cartridges, which have a lower capacity than TR-4
cartridges


QIC-Wide mini-cartridges (QIC-3095 format). This is an older tape format that
allows your T4 to maintain compatibility with previously written tapes.
Various brands of tape cartridges will work with your tape drive. To ensure the highest
level of performance, HP brand tapes, which have been tested for compatibility with
your drive, are recommended. The following table lists the tapes compatible with your
HP SureStore T4 tape drive.
Table 4.1 HP SureStore T4-compatible tapes
*Your backup software may or may not have compression capabilities. A compression
ratio of 2:1 is assumed for these examples. Actual compressed capacities will vary
depending on type of data.

Erasing Tapes

The Erase or Format utility provided by most backup applications is the safest and
quickest method of removing data from your tapes.
Do not erase any type of T4-compatible tape with bulk erasers. Magnetic bulk erasing
Caution
removes the tracking reference points that are placed on the tape at the factory.
Without these points, the tapes cannot be read by your tape drive.
Format Capacity
Travan TR-4 No Compression:4.0 GB
(QIC-3095) With Compression*: ~8.0 GB
HP Colorado 5 GB No Compression:2.5 GB
With Compression*: ~5.0 GB
QIC-Wide No Compression:2.1 GB
(QIC-3095) With Compression*: ~4.2 GB
Caring for Your Tape Drive
Choosing Tapes for Your Tape Drive
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