dlt tape not unloading

[bassey essien]

I have a hp dlt tapes libraries that the unload button is not responding when trying to eject tape from one of the drives. when unloading tapes, the write protected, tape in use and operate handle lights all flashes at the same time. i executed mc command to rotate the tapes but was unsucessful. could it be that there is a process tying up the drive.
thanks.

[Tommy Brown]

The last time this happened to me, (it was a standalone DLT), It indicates an internal failure and requires a Hardware replacement. The tape however is not unloadable manually. ie, I lost my tapes..
My HP CE did replace my media, ( happened 3 times in short timeframe). I say this if the lights are constantly flashing as you indicated. I could power off the DLT and the tape would load, but never could get the tape unloaded..
Sorry, if its bad news..
Tommy

[alberto vasquez]

Based on the information provided, it sounds like a hardware issue. It could be either a bad drive or a bad media. However, there are cases in which a process is trying up the drive: this is usually reported on the OS as "device busy" error.

Isolating whether the issue is hardware related can be done by testing the drive with different media and resetting the DLT to check for the same results. If hardware is eliminated then checking the processes using the drives, stopping and restarting those process would be a possible next step.

[charlene cummings]

Based on the information provided, it sounds like a hardware issue. It could be either a bad drive or a bad media. However, there are cases in which a process is trying up the drive: this is usually reported on the OS as "device busy" error.

Isolating whether the issue is hardware related can be done by testing the drive with different media and resetting the DLT to check for the same results. If hardware is eliminated then checking the processes using the drives, stopping and restarting those process would be a possible next step.

[Carlos Fernandez Riera]

Form a DLT owner's manual:

The drive hs detected an error condition:

The lights on the right side blink repeteably...

[Rick Garland]

You could salvage the tape but it would take the teardown of the tape enclosure. There is a screw that when turned will rewind the tape. This is manual however, could take some time.

[Jerry Loyola]

I just had that problem. We have the TSZ07 drives. I had just placed a tape in the drive closed the handle and all the lights on the right hand side had started flashing and continued to flash until I had hit the 'unload' button. The tape drive is on a Digital VAX Cluster type configuration. It's funny because the drive had unloaded the tape but after placing tape in. We lost the drive. The system physically shows the drive and but when trying to use it, cannot access the drive due to being offline/unmounted. We took the drive off and are currently researching possibilities for cause.

[David Ruska]

Jerry, I'd check it for a dropped leader.

See this doc:
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/hub_search/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=lpg50338