StorageWorks DAT 40 Tape Drive Problem

[Orlin81]

Hello,

Let me start by stating that I'm basically an amateur forced to deal with an unfamiliar matter, so apologies in advance if this turns out to be something trivial I've missed elsewhere.

I was recently tasked with extracting data from DDS tape backups made around 2001 by a relative who passed away (he'd back up both work & personal stuff, so the tapes are now the only remaining source for some family stuff).  To this end, I'm using an HP StorageWorks C5686B SCSI Tape Drive with an Adaptec 29160 SCSI card, both of which worked fine in the past.

Having been informed that I'd need to run this natively off an old OS with an old enough rig to run it properly, I initially set up a rig with Win2K. While it identified the tapes & contents, it couldn't actually restore anything since the Win2K backup system isn't compatible; since it was made on a win95/98/ME OS, it apparently needs to run off one of those.

I eventually got a working Pentium 3 rig that runs Win98/WinME fine, & the OS recognized the SCSI card just fine. So naturally, now that the rig & OS are ok , it's the drive itself causing problems.

When it worked on the Win2K system a few weeks ago, the drive would power on fine once the computer was turned on; it'd make some whirring noises on start, have just the Power LED light turned on (drive has 2 yellow LEDS, Power and Clean), and there'd be a notification that the SCSI card identified the unit before the OS started loading. Now, it makes no noise on powering up, and both the Power & Clean LEDs are constantly on, without blinking (a lighting combination not listed anywhere in the user manual). The drive itself doesn't respond to anything, the SCSI card is identified by the system but doesn't recognize the drive, and the drive won't react when I try to insert a tape.

I removed the drive from the Win98 rig and tried it with other PCs and the problem persists, so it's an issue with the unit itself. I made no changes any of the switches or pins on the unit itself. Even if it's not connected to any adapter and only receiving power, it just stays frozen, with both lights constantly on and no other response, never changing from power on until powered down.

Is the drive dead, or is there something that can be done to get it back to working order (reset option, etc.)?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated at this point. Thank you in advance.

[tapelibraryfixr]

seems like either a power issue or the mainboard is faulty.

[Orlin81]

It seems to be acting in the same way regardless of what computer and/or power supply it's connected to; so if it's a power issue, what exactly can I do?

[tapelibraryfixr]

Well if that the case then it likely a board fault. sometimes splitter cables cause power issues.

They did make a USB version so you may want to try that, they should be pretty cheap. also a DAT72 should read those tapes.