dlt 40e all lights flashing

[Dustin krysak]

Hi there I have a DLT 40e tape drive hooked up to our server.

For some reason all the lights are rapidly flashing (with the exception of the "operate handle" light which is solid green.)

The drive never seems to load the tape, and when I do a data compression test, the status just sits on "checking for tape".

Any ideas?

Dustin

[CA713937]

I did a search on Quantum's knowledge base, and found the following:

Question:
What does it mean when all the lights are flashing on the right side?

Answer:
The flashing of the Write Protected, Tape in Use, and Use Cleaning Tape LED indicates a drive problem.

Power-off and then power-on the drive. If this does not clear the error then contact Technical Support.

- - -

[Dustin krysak]

Upon further investigation (while cracking open my tapes from the previous few days) I found a tape that had been completely emptied of it's contents. The drive ate my tape like an old ghetto blaster.

[CA713937]

A possible cause would be the drive BOT/EOT sensor being dirty. This prevents the drive from reliably seeing the EOT hole in the tape, and can cause the tape to unspool.

This is typically not a customer self-repairable failure. The tape would need to be removed, and the drive leader would need to be reattached.

[BR647456]

I think the drive is broken. The leader that takes the tape is broken. HP calls this a dropped leader. Call support and get it replaced.

Dries

[CA713937]

> The leader that takes the tape is broken. HP calls this a dropped leader.

Actually a dropped leader is a different condition from what this customer described (with all the tape in the drive). For a dropped leader, the drive was not able to thread the tape into the drive. The drive leader (attached to the takeup reel inside the drive) has a 'hook' end which engages with a loop on the end of the tape (called the 'mushroom end'. If the tape end is damaged (e.g. bent or broken), the drive can 'miss' grabbing the tape end, and the leader will get pulled into the drive. Normally the leader is pulled back out (to engage the next tape), when the tape is rewound and unloaded. However, if the end was missed, the drive has no way to pull the leader back out into position.

Here's a few links:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/information_storage/support_doc/lpg50027.html

http://www.hp.com/cposupport/information_storage/support_doc/lpg50025.html