5257/5257 ACL Installation and User's Guide for NonStop S-Series Tape Enclosures

Operating the 5257 Tape Drive
5257/5257ACL Installation and User's Guide for NonStop Himalaya S-Series Tape Enclosures—522344-001
4-3
Cartridge Write-Protect Switch
Data Protection
Move the cartridge write-protect switch to the left to activate (light) the write-protect
LED. If the drive is writing to the tape, write protect does not take effect until the
current write operation completes.
Table 4-1
describes what happens to data protection when the write-protect switch is
moved before loading the cartridge.
Table 4-2
describes what happens to data protection when the write-protect switch is
moved during operation.
Figure 4-3. Tape Cartridge
Table 4-1. Before Loading the Cartridge
If the write-protect switch is
moved… Then…
To the left, the tape is write-protected;
the orange indicator on the cartridge
appears.
Data cannot be written to the tape.
To the right, the tape is write-enabled. Data can be written to the tape (if it is
not software write-protected).
Table 4-2. After Loading the Cartridge and Operating
If the write-protect switch is
moved… Then…
From the write-protected position to
write-enabled
The tape becomes write-enabled (after
a variable amount of seconds).
From write-enabled to write-protected The tape becomes write-protected (after
a variable amount of seconds).
Orange Indicator
Write Protect Switch