Troubleshooting Tape Read Errors

Troubleshooting Tape Read Errors

Often there is a quick and simple fix for an error message that is caused by a tape drive malfunction or the tape itself. Both recoverable and unrecoverable errors can be caused by something as basic as a dirty read/write head, a poorly tensioned tape, or a dropout, which is a physically bad spot on the tape. An EOT message can also mean that there is no data on the tape.

The following information covers some of the basic tape maintenance/performance functions that should be considered as factors that could either prevent future error conditions from occurring or as aids in recovering from an existing error message:

Be sure your read/write head is clean.
Use the hinv command to determine which tape drive type is connected to your system.
Use the mt stat command to verify the status of the tape drive and the media.
Use the mt ret command before read or write operations.