HP DAT 24x6 Write Problems

[Abdiel Marin]

Hello there,

I have a Surestore 24x6 DAT Autoloader (model C1559A/B) with a tape drive that appears to have 2 model numbers (on the bottom label it reads C1537-04000, and a label on the connector reads C1537-6601).

I'm having read-write errors, and I know that it relates to a bad head. I want to either replace the tape drive as a whole, or replace the head itself. But I'm not sure what tape drive I'd have to buy in order to accomplish this. I can't find any tape drives with the same exact model number. ie: I have found C1537-00485, C1537-11485, amoung others.

Question #1 Are all C1537-XXXXX drives backwards compatible (without any firmware modifications) so that I can simply replace the drive.

Question #2 If they are not all backwards compatible, are the heads on all C1537-XXXXX drives backwards compatible.

Thanks!

[Eugeny Brychkov]

Do not replace heads. Bad practice... and results are not as expected. In worst case - replace drive. Do not replace drive from standalone unit - it may not fit autoloader, and can have incompatible firmware.
First of all try LTT http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/ltt/index.html and check support ticket if it will ask you to recalibrate drive's heads (there's script to do in in LTT script set).
BTW, did you try new just unpacked tapes to see if problem is in the drive but not in the tapes? Did you clean drive regularly (after each 5 full backups or 20 tape pulling hours)?
Eugeny

[Abdiel Marin]

I've tried EVERYTHING!! I am absolutely sure it's the heads. I've tried several cleaning procedures, tried all kinds of tapes, New and Old, and it just wont work. The second it tries to write, I get a write error.


So this software you speak of can recalibrate the heads? I'm almost positive that the head is worn from lots of use. Will is fix worn heads?

[Rothery Harris]

Dear Abdiel,

You cannot replace the data heads or the mechanism. The drive mechanism in the Autoloaders has different firmware and a different lid. The firmware cannot be replaced in the field and you would have to obtain a lid from somewhere. HP replaces the head drum assembly when heads are worn, which then needs to be aligned and calibrated against a special standardised tape. This procedure is complicated and is only performed in house. I recommend you upgrade to a DAT40x6 or obtain a unit exchange. The numbers you see on your lable are HP internal part numbers. These are only used internally. You should always quote the model numbers. Drives which only have part numbers are OEM models and may have special firmware as required by the OEM customer.

Rothery

[CA843380]

Hi,

Try the recalibration script in LTT as Eugeny suggests. This can recover writing performance in many cases.

Cheers,

Dave Dewar

[Abdiel Marin]

Rothery,

I appreciate your time in your answer, however, I believe your answer was a typical proprietary maintenance answer. ie: ("you can't do it, we need to charge you and do it for you" answer.) I'm not a fan of that.

I'll try calibrating the heads using the tape tools, and I'll post my findings.

[Abdiel Marin]

Unfortunately,
Recalibrating was unsuccessfull. It tried all sorts of settings and it still could not get it to write well. Any suggestions?