Low level formatting, as is required on most hard drives and some mini cartridge tape drives, is not required for drives that SCO ARCserve/Open supports.
Warning: Use this option with care. Once you format a tape, the data it contained (if any) is lost permanently.
If you plan to use SCO ARCserve/Open's Auto Pilot feature, don't format the tapes. Let SCO ARCserve/Open auto-format them for you.
To format a tape:
See ``Accessing the Changer Device Management options'', which details the steps to get you here.
Or, click the Format icon.
The Changer Format dialog box displays:
If the slots that are displayed do not contain the tape(s) to be formatted, select a different tape device group.
If your changer has only one tape drive, then you will not be able to select any other group, and all slots in the changer will be shown.
Highlight the desired tape.
You should choose an expiration date based on how you will use the tape. If you will be using the tape a few times a week, you should set the expiration date to a year from now, maybe less. If you will be using the tape only once a month, you can set the expiration date to two or three years from the current date. The less you use a tape, the longer it should last.
When a tape reaches the date specified in the Expiration Date field, you will still be able to use it, but when you make a backup, for example, the Activity Log will have a note that this tape has expired.
The expiration date is simply a way of tracking how long a tape has been in service so you can stop using it before it reaches the end of its useful life.
If you are using Auto Pilot, and a tape is expired, Auto Pilot will remove the tape from the ``loop'' and prompt you to insert a blank one. Auto Pilot Operations will stop until you insert the blank tape.
SCO ARCserve/Open Changer Device Manager allows you to format more than one tape at a time in the same group. Simply go back to step 4 and select the next tape you want to format, and enter the appropriate name and expiration date.
SCO ARCserve/Open will format any tapes that you have selected.