DTLIV tapes not working in DLT vs80 drive

[Russ Alltucker]

If I take a new Quantum DLTtapeIV tape and use it in my HP Surestore VS80 tape drive, I have no problems.

But...
If I take the same type of tape which has been used in a Quantum DLT 7000 tape drive, the VS80 tape drive very quickly ejects the tape.

I want to use the vs80 tape drive to completely write over what had been stored by the DLT 7000 tape drive.

How can I get the vs80 to accept or reformat the tape previously written on by the DLT 7000 tape drive?

Any and all help will be appreciated.
Russ Alltucker

[Vincent Farrugia]

Hello,

The problem is very simple. The vs80 drive is based on the DLT1 technology, which is only backward-compatible to DLT4000 tapes. If you enter a DLT7000 tape, it rejects it because that format is unsupported on the vs80.

Unfortunately the best way out of this problem is to use new tapes.

Also, make sure you don't use DLT7000 cleaning tapes, as these are not compatible with the vs80. Use specifically vs80 cleaning tapes (brown).

If you really want to use the other tapes, you can buy a degaussing machine and degauss them with it.

HTH,
Vince