Tapee noise, now I can't do anything!

[Lucius Kahng]

I put a new tape into the surestore DLT 80 device, and then try to detect the the device, but the tape drive keeps on periodically emitting a mechanical "uuughhhhh" noise. I listened to the wave file for a dropped leader, and the sound is not the same. The dropped leader sounds more like a fan, whereas the noise I'm getting is more like a a mechanical grunt.

So now, my tapes just stit in the drive, every 1 minute making the noise, and nothing happens. I've tried tape cleaner, different tapes, etc., but to no avail!

I've attached a sample wav of the noise. This is one of the shorter grunts. They usually a little bit longer.

[Michael Tully]

I hate being the bearer of sad news,
but sounds like your tape drive is
in need of replacement. If you have
a support contract with HP this should
not pose a great problem to get it replaced.

[David Ruska]

The buzzing sound you here is NOT a dropped leader. That is the sound of the drive recalibrating the head position. Your drive is having difficulty loading and calibrating the tape. The tape(s) could be bad, the head could be dirty, or the drive could be bad.

I'd suggest cleaning the drive three times with a NEW cleaning tape. The cleaning tape you are using may have contamination on it, so each time you put it in, you recontaminate the drive. Once you have cleaned it, then try a new tape. If the drive fails to load the new tape, the drive is most likely bad.