Error Prevention Guide
Error Prevention Guide 13
HP CONFIDENTIAL
Writer: Ted Weiman File Name: 335894-1.doc
Codename: Part Number: 335894-001 Last Saved On: 7/28/03 8:48 AM
Cleaning Drives
DAT Drives
Clean the tape heads of the drive regularly with a cleaning cartridge to maintain the
integrity of backup data. For optimum performance and to prevent the loss of data,
HP recommends that you incorporate a cleaning cycle into your backup routine.
As a general guideline, you should clean the tape heads after every fifth backup
cartridge. You should also clean the tape heads if the media caution signal (flashing
amber light) is displayed on a tape drive or the
Clean Me message is displayed on an
autoloader. Refer to the device documentation for more information.
Cleaning Cartridges
Use only an HP cleaning cartridge to clean the tape heads. Do not use swabs or other
means of cleaning the heads. The cleaning cartridge uses a special tape to clean the
tape heads. A cleaning cartridge can only be used 50 times or as instructed on the
cartridge packaging. When the cartridge runs out of tape, discard it and use a new
one.
LTO, SDLT, and DLT Drives
Use the cleaning cartridge if cleaning is indicated by the backup software or if the
Cleaning LED is on. Refer to the device documentation for more information.
AIT Drives
The tape drive has a cleaning roller built in, which assists in preventing and
recovering from head contamination. This feature minimizes buildup on the
read/write heads so fewer cleaning cycles with a cleaning cassette are required.
However, HP recommends you schedule a routine cleaning every 100 hours of use to
keep the tape drive in good working order. The drive also needs cleaning when the
drive Status LED displays long flashes with short pauses. Refer to the device
documentation for more information.