stegosaurus
IS-IT--Management
Hello!
I have an ADR2.60ide tape drive that I have found is not working properly in that it refuses to recognize the media. I have a second drive that is working and recognizes the tapes just fine, and in comparing the two, this is what I notice while looking through the back of the drive while inserting a tape:
On the GOOD drive, the head starts out near the center. The head then drops to the bottom, then the drive winds the tape a bit, the head lifts and lowers again, the tape winds more and it is obvious that it is being read at this point: the head is then near the center, the drive stops winding, and then idles. when you hit the eject button, the head goes near the center, and the drive opens.
on the BAD drive: the head starts out near the center. The head drops to the bottom, then the drive winds a bit. and a bit more. and a bit more. and a bit more. etc.
If I leave it to do that it eventually gets to tape end, and then partially ejects the tape with the LED on, which means that I then need to take the tape apart and manually fast-forward the tape to the header again.
I was wondering if this behaviour could be caused by a misaligned head: I see that there are two alignment screws on the tape-head-chassis: one to the left (if looking from the rear of the drive), and one to the back. Mechanically, these would control the roll and pitch of the head (I'm using Aircraft terminology to describe this, as if the tape head is the nose). Also, these two screws seem to be the only ones that are "User Accessable" from the top of the drive, as there are two holes Immediately above the screws, allowing them to be accessed with a jewelers screwdriver.
Has anyone out there had any luck in realigning their tape heads?
I have an ADR2.60ide tape drive that I have found is not working properly in that it refuses to recognize the media. I have a second drive that is working and recognizes the tapes just fine, and in comparing the two, this is what I notice while looking through the back of the drive while inserting a tape:
On the GOOD drive, the head starts out near the center. The head then drops to the bottom, then the drive winds the tape a bit, the head lifts and lowers again, the tape winds more and it is obvious that it is being read at this point: the head is then near the center, the drive stops winding, and then idles. when you hit the eject button, the head goes near the center, and the drive opens.
on the BAD drive: the head starts out near the center. The head drops to the bottom, then the drive winds a bit. and a bit more. and a bit more. and a bit more. etc.
If I leave it to do that it eventually gets to tape end, and then partially ejects the tape with the LED on, which means that I then need to take the tape apart and manually fast-forward the tape to the header again.
I was wondering if this behaviour could be caused by a misaligned head: I see that there are two alignment screws on the tape-head-chassis: one to the left (if looking from the rear of the drive), and one to the back. Mechanically, these would control the roll and pitch of the head (I'm using Aircraft terminology to describe this, as if the tape head is the nose). Also, these two screws seem to be the only ones that are "User Accessable" from the top of the drive, as there are two holes Immediately above the screws, allowing them to be accessed with a jewelers screwdriver.
Has anyone out there had any luck in realigning their tape heads?
