Invalid Media Symptoms; Cartridge Memory - Dell PowerVault 110T LTO 3 Handbook

Invalid Media Symptoms

PowerVault LTO tape drive with invalid media displays the following
symptoms:
• Cleaning light turns on.
• Media light flashes or stays on.
• Tape ejects.
• Backup software reports invalid media.
• Error code 7 is displayed on drives with a seven segment display.

Cartridge Memory

Tape drives require information about the tape cartridge being used. For LTO
tape cartridges, this information is stored in a small chip within the tape and
is referred to as the Cartridge Memory (CM). CM is a nonvolatile memory
that responds through a passive radio frequency interface.
The CM holds the following information:
• The type of cartridge
• Important information that the drive uses to setup and calibrate
• The tape directory to enable a quick search for data sets
You experience difficulties with the cartridge if the CM is damaged or
corrupted. However, the user data can still be recovered. To recover the data,
set the write protect tab on the cartridge and the load the cartridge into an
Ultrium drive.
The drive stores enough information on tape to be able to recognize the tape.
However, the data directory is lost. Hence, the drive can only search from the
beginning of tape (BOT) to end of tape (EOT) across all wraps to find the
data. A Fast Search to the correct location is not possible.
NOTE:
Recovery of data from a full tape could take up to 3 hours.
ptause Solution
12 LTO Media Handbook