Dell PowerVault 110T LTO2 (Tape Drive) - Manual (Page 33)

Perform a Thorough Inspection
l Inspect the cartridge's packaging to determine potential rough handling.
l 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.
l Inspect the cartridge for damage before using or storing it.
l Inspect the rear of the cartridge (the part that you load first into the tape load compartment) and ensure that there are no gaps in the seam of the cartridge case. If there
are gaps in the seam, the leader pin may be dislodged.
l Check that the leader pin is properly seated.
l If you suspect that the cartridge has been mishandled but it appears useable, copy any data onto a good cartridge immediately for possible data recovery. Discard the
mishandled cartridge.
l Review handling and shipping procedures.
Handle the Cartridge Carefully
l Do not drop the cartridge. If the cartridge drops, slide the cartridge door back and ensure that the leader pin is properly seated in the pin-retaining spring clips.
l Do not handle tape that is outside the cartridge. Handling the tape can damage the tape's surface or edges, which may interfere with read or write reliability. Pulling on
tape that is outside the cartridge can damage the tape and the brake mechanism in the cartridge.
l Do not stack more than six cartridges.
l Do not degauss a cartridge that you intend to reuse. Degaussing makes the tape unusable.
Cleaning the Tape Mechanism
DELL PowerVault 110T LTO-2 tape drives have been developed to have a minimal cleaning requirement. The tape drive will display a C on the single-character display and the
status light will flash amber when the drive needs cleaning. Only insert a cleaning cartridge into the tape drive when the C is displayed.
An LTO Ultrium universal cleaning cartridge is supplied with each tape drive. Do not use swabs or other means of cleaning the heads. The cleaning cartridge uses a special
tape to clean the tape heads.
Though the number may vary according to the manufacturer, the universal cleaning cartridge is generally valid for 50 cleanings. If the cleaning cartridge is ejected immediately,
then it has expired or it is not a supported cleaning cartridge. Discard it and use a new one.
To use the LTO Ultrium universal cleaning cartridge:
1. Insert a cleaning cartridge into the tape drive. The tape drive performs the cleaning automatically. When the cleaning is finished, the drive ejects the cartridge.
2. Remove the cleaning cartridge from the drive.
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CAUTION: Only use LTO cleaning cartridges that are labeled "universal". Some Generation 1 cleaning cartridges may not be the universal type. The
Generation 2 tape drive is only compatible with the LTO Ultrium universal cleaning cartridges. Use of any other type of cleaning cartridge or method
can damage the read/write head in your drive. If you load any other type of cleaning cartridge, the tape drive ejects it immediately.