DDS3 drive cleaning problem

[Hanson]

We have a DDS3 drive for our Unix server. Recently, the amber light that indicates the drive needs cleaning goes off after every single backup. A cleaning tape fixes it, but it comes back the very next day. We haven't had any errors during backup... yet.

We replaced all the tapes with brand new ones, but that didn't help.

Any ideas?

 

[BFOJ]

We had this same problem with three DLT7000 tape drives. Didn't even need a cleaning tape to reset the LED, just using any tape would reset it. Just like you we had no errors during backup (we could restore) and we also brought new tapes. After much haggling with the tape drive vendor and tape backup software vendor both of whom tried various solutions, the ultimate solution was all three drives needed to be replaced.

 

[digitalmaster]

As an OEM of security systems we fit around 50 DD3 drives a month in production...if this symptom persists and a hard reset does not fix it...change the drive.

Depending on the software being used, there will be errors going on in the background that you may not see. These errors can also screw your new tapes without you realising.

Check the warranty if you bought the drive from a distributor...it is not unusual for these drives to have a 3 year warranty (although many suppliers do not mention this fact)