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@tgotham wrote:
I have a PV110T DLT1 drive that has recently stopped performing backups. The clean/media light was blinking, so I inserted a cleaning tape, but this was ejected only a few moments later apparently without cleaning the drive since the light remained on. I tried a fresh cleaning tape, but the same thing happened. Also, the drive will not mount any media. The Veritas Backup Exec 8.5 software hangs up on all backup jobs before eventually reporting the tape as bad media. The same thing happens with a brand new Dell DLTape IV. Any suggestions?

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I'm seeing the same thing, with the drive installed in a PowerEdge 4400, using Veritas
BE 9.1.. Since the office did not have a cleaning tape for the system, we purchased a new
one, and it was ejected by the system in just a few seconds, with the alert light still flashing.. Like you, I'm getting the same indications on all used/new tapes I insert.
I tried emailing Dell support, thinking there is something wrong with the drive, and recieved an html document that had nothing to do with what I reported.. Realizing that I was probably wasting my time emailing Dell support (based on the poor reports I see on these forums from people who tried emailing Dell..), I read your post.. It appears Dell's support here in the forums is not much better.. This is disquieting, since this forum covers mission-critical enterprise server equipment.. I would expect spotty support in the home-user forums but not here...

Sorry.. I don't have any ideas, other than it's probably a defective drive...

Dave

Hi,

are u using a full-height or a VS80 tape drive? Have you already verified if your type of TBU is listed in the inlay of the cleaning cartridge box? How often have you already used this cleaning media? You should also check ift there is a firmware update available in the Dell file library for your TBU ...

Message Edited by Per_R. on 12-11-2005 04:21 PM

Hey Dave,

I just wanted to let you know how our problem was eventually resolved.  I had assumed that all DLT IV cleaning tapes are the same, but they are apparently not.  I had tried the old cleaning tape and a new unopened one from storage and neither worked.  In a fit of desperation, I had a Dell branded DLT IV cleaning tape overnighted--and that tape actually worked for me.  I hope that this helps you.

Tim

Hey Dave,

I

Hey Dave,

I just

>Hi,

>are u using a full-height or a VS80 tape drive? Have you already verified if your type of TBU is listed in the inlay >of the cleaning cartridge box? How often have you already used this cleaning media? You should also check ift >there is a firmware update available in the Dell file library for your TBU ...

>Per Rydell

Thanks for replying.. It's a "Tape Backup Unit, 40/80G, Internal, Half Height, PV110T, VS80" as listed in the system configuration. The cleaning tape being attempted is brand new, a "Maxell Cleaning Tape III"..  The cleaning tape label from Maxell does not list any specific drives, only DLT260,600,200 series, 2700XT series, 4000 series, 7000 series, and 8000 series drives. The tape is yellow in color, and in my previous "day-job" I supported a DEC TZ88 DLT based backup system which used the 40/80gb capacity DLT tapes, and we used the same yellow DLT cleaning tapes, which worked fine with the DEC drives.. I also downloaded the PV-Tools/Update from the web, and it updated the drive f/w from 4022 to 5538.. Any ideas??

Thanks to all,

Dave

Dave,

as far as I know is type of cleaning tape wrong. You should use a VS80 compatible cleaning cartridge.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?category_id=5746&k=&mnf=&brandid=&prst=&prEnd=&sku=340-2372&mnfsku=&SearchType=&Page=productlisting.aspx&spagenum=1&Pageb4Search=&InStock=&items_per_page=25&orderby=&mnfname=&brand=&SubmitSearch=&image_flag=True&refurbished=&c=us&l=en&cs=RC968571&iCompatid=

Message Edited by Per_R. on 12-11-2005 04:21 PM

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@Per_R. wrote:

Dave,

as far as I know is type of cleaning tape wrong. You should use a VS80 compatible cleaning cartridge.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?category_id=5746&k=&mnf=&brandid=&prst=&prEnd=&sku=340-2372&mnfsku=&SearchType=&Page=productlisting.aspx&spagenum=1&Pageb4Search=&InStock=&items_per_page=25&orderby=&mnfname=&brand=&SubmitSearch=&image_flag=True&refurbished=&c=us&l=en&cs=RC968571&iCompatid=

Per Rydell

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Ok.. I've returned the DLT III tape, and ordered a Quantum DLT1/VS80 tape online.. Will
give that a try..

Thanks for the tips.
Dave

I've got the same issue.

I opened a brand new Dell cleaning tape, I've run the cleaning cartridge 4 times. The light still blinks. I've power cycled the tape device, the light still continues to blink.

Any ideas?

Tim