Internal HP Colorado 20GB Not Recognizing Tapes

[CA1318398]

I have an internal HP Colorado 20GB DLT drive that has been operating on Windows XP and running Backup MyPC V4.71 software for several years. Recently, it decided to stop recognizing any of the four tapes that I use. When I attempt to "identify" a tape, I get the message

"This media is not initialized. Insert another tape to continue."

When I attempt to "initialize" the tape, I get the message

"This media contains unknown or unreadable data. Initialize will erase all existing data. Do you want to initialize?"

When I answer yes, I receive the following message

"Unable to apply the proper backup software format to this media. Please insert another media to continue."

I have uninstalled and reinstalled both the drive and the software and neither helped my situation. Device manager shows the drive is fine and the tapes do spin up. I am at a loss as to why this used to work and suddenly stopped working. Any suggestions for other things to try would be appreciated. I just hate throwing away my investment in the drive and the tapes when there must be a solution out there. Thanks in advance.

[Lewis Finch]

Jeremy, Try the retension command a couple of times. This is the method by which the drive is cleaned. Also, if you look in the door, you will see a tiny optical sensor on the left side. Try blowing this out with compressed air. Be careful not to spray on the read write head as this can cause damage.

[CA1318398]

Lewis,

Thanks for your suggestions. I had already tried the retention command and blowing with compressed air but I did give both another try. When I attempt to retension, I get the following message:

"This media cannot be used with the device. Ref: 0D-13-23-01-3000"

I'm still at a loss. Is there any other way you know of to clean the drive? Any other ideas? Thanks.

Jeremy

[Lewis Finch]

Jeremy, usually when a Travan drive stops recognizing tapes it can't locate the beginning of the tape. When you insert the tape, the motor will make 7 distinct sounds as the head goes up and down seeking. The intialization process lasts aproximately 18 seconds. if your drive is not doing this then either the media has failed or the drive itself

[CA1318398]

Lewis,

When I place a tape in the drive, I only hear two of the seven stages of which you are speaking. Each lasts about 2-3 seconds. I guess I never really paid attention to how many times the tape would spin up previously, but having only the two stages for 5-6 seconds doesn't seem abnormal in the recesses of my memory. Are you certain about this? I hate to spend $40 for another tape only to determine that my drive has failed. Thanks.

Jeremy

[CA1318398]

Lewis,

HP tells me that my tapes are warrantied for life, so I went ahead and sent two of them in to have them checked. I received no reply as to their condition, however, they did send me two new tapes. When I installed the first new tape, I heard the seven stages you mentioned as the tape was trying to locate the beginning and I was able to initialize and retention the tape. Before I was able to attempt a backup the new tape started exhibiting the same problem that I experienced previously. I inserted the second new tape only to find that it was working fine and I was able to initialize it, retension, and perform a full backup. I'm at a loss for what it is about the drive that could be creating problems for the tapes. Once they begin exhibiting the stated problem, they never work again. Do you have any ideas? I'll sure get tired of mailing tapes back to HP for replacement. Thanks.

Jeremy

[Chris Madison]

What was the address you sent the HP Travan tape to have replaced?

[Lewis Finch]

Jeremy. The statement "lifetime warranty" actually refers to the"limited lifetime warranty" of the tape itself, not your lifetime. That warranty is usually about a year or 100 full backup operations. As far as your problem goes, my guess is the read/write head is damaged and ruining your tapes. There is no cure