Quantum (Benckmark) DLT1 spits out previously used tapes

[John Bonbright]

I saw a post on something similar some time back and thought I'd share my experience.

I installed a Quantum (Benckmark) DLT1 external tape drive on a Dell PowerEdge running Win2K Server and, after connecting the unit and installing drivers successfully, threw in a Sony DLT IV 30/70GB tape I obtained from a company that went out of business. After a minute or so, the "Warning" light on the drive came on and the tape was automatically ejected. This happened with two other tapes I tried.

Here's why, according to a very helpful Benchmark tech: the tapes I tested had been written to by another type of DLT drive, which I confirmed was a Quantum DLT7000. Well, it turns out that this drive and the DLT1 write to the media quite differently, one in a herringbone pattern and one in a straight up and down pattern respectively. When the DLT1 tried to read this tape, it had no idea what to do with it and ejected it. This is by design.

The solution? Degauss (bulk erase) the tape(s). For about $2 a tape you can ship them off and have them completely degaussed. I used audioelectronics.com. Once you figure in shipping and the $30 (their minimum charge) charge, a little more than the cost of one new DLT IV 40/80, you get 15 old tapes erased and ready for use. Since I have about forty of these, it made a lot of sense to do it this way. Since the tapes I acquired were probably only written to on twenty or thirty separate occasions, they're almost brand new, at least by DLT life cycle standards (typically 10,000 or so uses.)