Surestore DLT 80 (aka Quantum DLT8000) - Dropped Leader & Takeup Reel Motor

[J_153]

Hello all,

I know this is an old unit but unfortunately we have several important archives on DLT IV tapes that I need to get data off asap - now the tape unit is not working.

I found a pdf manual for the unit here - http://www.rorke.com/tech-support/UploadFiles/RTL_6000_8000e.pdf

From page 96 (5-29):
-----
Symptoms of a Detached Leader
• When a Quantum DLT 4000, 70000 or 8000 tape drive is powered up with a detached
leader, the “Tape in Use” light blinks continuously. The handle will not
operate in this condition.
-----

This is the exact behaviour I am observing. So I looked inside and saw that the leader was attached. hmmmm.. I took it apart anyway (following the instructions in that pdf) and confirmed the leader was attached and was aligned between the flanges of all six rollers. Manually turning the Takeup Reel 1/8th clockwise confirmed that all mechanics such as the buckling mechanism were 100% ok.

I powered it on with the case still open to observe the behaviour. After power on, the head and guide motor assembly moves up/down/tilts as expected, but the Takeup Reel does not move! Surely the Takeup Reel should spin to try pull the tape in?

My next step was to actually drop the leader from the buckling arm in the hope of observing the Take Up Reel spinning and get the leader wrapped around it - but nothing. The Takeup Reel did not budge.

So, folk, what do you think? I am thinking that the Takeup Reel that has a motor driving it that pulls the tape in and this motor is damaged some how?

Does anyone have a service manual for this unit?

Thanks for your kind help all.

Regards,
John.

[J_153]

I found an interesting article here - http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/advsearch.do?collection=PATCH&type=collections&max=50&language=en&queryKey5=112068&toDocument=yes

Under section A4.7 it says there is a possibility that the Takeup Reel motor will lock. It recommends upgrading the firmware.

Now the firmware is currently v20 and I tried to upggrade to LTT_DLT8000_V089_OEM1.frm via HP StorageWorks Library and Tape Tools v4.1 but it fails, probably due to the fact that the drive is in a error state. Catch 22 or what! Is there any way to force a bios flash?

[J_153]

Firmware upgrade error is

Unrecovered I/O error - I/O Exception (Sense Key: 5, Sense Code: 0x2482 - 'Media In Drive')

The drive is empty btw and the Tape In Use light is flashing away as usual. Very frustrating.

[J_153]

So giving up on this drive, I am now looking to buy the cheapest drive I can, that is capable of reading "DLT IV" tapes.

Does anyone happen to know of a web page that shows a list of all drives that support this model of tape? I am hoping to get a really cheap unit on ebay.

Thanks for your help all.
John.

[Michael Richter]

Hi John,

here some helpfull links. mostly a stucked tape cause a dropped leader

HP DLT Tape - How to Remove A Stuck Tape in a DLT40, DLT70, or DLT80
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=lpg50246

if u get the tape out of the drive, begin to fit the leader


HP DLT - How to rethread a dropped leader in a DLT40, 70 or 80
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=lpg50338&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN


and if u need several spareparts for this drive visit the quantum Sparepart Page -> http://quantum.seguecorp.com/products.asp


Cheers Michael

[J_153]

Thanks Michael. But the leader is not dropped. The problem is that the Take Up Reel motor does not spin. Anyway, I am giving up on fixing this now.

All I am looking for is a list of tape library units that can read DLT IV tapes.

Can anyone help?

Regards,
John.

[Michael Richter]

hey John,

not much possebilities .. uh ..

1. partsurfer.hp.com
2. hp repair center
3. Quantum Spares (there u'll fin every littel sparepart for this drive)
4. buy a sparedrive @ ebay ;)

Cheers

[Jaclyn Rothe]

If the tapes are written by a DLT 8000 drive, you need a DLT 8000 drive to read them.

A dropped leader can be mimicked by communication issues or corrupted firmware.

I would be troubleshooting a communication problem, regardless if this has been in the configuration for a while.

IO errors are termination errors, and you should replace the calbe and terminator to resolve with issue.

Also RSM in Windows should be disabled if you are not using NT BACKUP as your back up software. This service causes communication issues:

HP Storageworks Tape Backup â Resolving Issues Caused by RSM
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=c00023443&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

If LTT is reporting an IO issue, this confirms you have a communication problem... this should be resolved before troubleshooting the LED sequence on your drive.

IO issues reported by LTT are caused by termination problems, and back up software services running, stop all back up software services and stop and disable RSM. Then use LTT again.

Flash the firmware in the drive with LTT to recover the drive to a functional state.

[J_153]

Folks thanks for the info.

As I said in my second post, I belive a fireware flash will fix the problem, but as it is a "catch 22" situation where I can't flash the drive until the problem is fixed :) The LTT tools will not flash the drive as it thinks a tape is in the drive. What a bummer.

Cables and terminator have been replade and the same problem exists.

I am now looking on EBAY for a cheap DLT8000 drive. Wish me luck!