Situation You May Encounter:

A Data Cartridge/Drive system has developed an error/data check or some other performance related problem and is unable to perform required backup operations.

Why The Situation Exists:

The determination of why the problem exists can only be established after the troubleshooting phase of the analysis has been completed. Suffice it to say that the magnetic recording process is a very complex and critical operation involving the drive, the head, and the cartridge. Performance problems with any of them can result in system failures.

It is, however, essential to conform to the care and handling requirements of the data cartridge to obtain consistently reliable cartridge performance. (See Care and Handling.) Failure to comply with the defined handling procedures may result in operational problems.

Recommended Action:

In order to understand the nature of the system failure, the following questions and topics may need to be addressed.

1. Note the operation you were performing when the problem occurred. For example:

a. Servo Writing
b. Formatting
c. Writing
d. Verifying
e. Reading (restoring data files)
f. Other

2. What was the reported fault condition, i.e., what did the system monitor say was wrong?

3. Has this fault condition occurred before on this cartridge, or on other cartridges?

4. Are other cartridges performing normally?

5. How long has the system been in use?

6. Is a periodic preventative maintenance program, including drive head cleaning and cartridge tape retensioning, in place and actively used?

7. Is the cartridge usable on a second drive?

8. Who manufactured the drive? What is the model number?

9. What is the cartridge manufacturing date code?

If the above investigation determines that the cartridge is one of the problem variables, a sequence of investigative and problem definition steps may be undertaken by the operator to fully define the problem.

Copyright 1996 Imation. All rights reserved.