Formatting tapes

Although SCO ARCserve/Open will automatically format blank tapes, you can use this option to manually format your tapes. Formatting writes a new label at the beginning of the tape, effectively destroying all existing data on the tape.

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:

  1. Get to the Changer Device Management window.

    See ``Accessing the Changer Device Management options'', which details the steps to get you here.

  2. Select Format from the Device Management menu.

    Or, click the Format icon.

    The Changer Format dialog box displays:



  3. Select the tape device group.

    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.

  4. Select the tape you want to format.

    Highlight the desired tape.

  5. Enter a name for this new tape and select a day on which you would like to take this tape out of service.

    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.

  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for all the tapes you want to format.

    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.

  7. Click OK to start formatting.

    SCO ARCserve/Open will format any tapes that you have selected.


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