rich@harvard.harvard.edu (Rich Baughman) (09/13/90)
We have recently acquired two Exabyte 8mm drives for backups. They are working great with no problems so far. I have been reading that it's a good idea to clean them after every ~30 hours of use. I got the cleaning tapes, but I'm not sure how to use them! Do I just load them once, then unload them (will that 'rub' the heads enough to clean them)? Do I tar some big file to them, or start a dump? Am I missing something obvious? -- Rich Baughman rich@cfi.com OR ima!cfisun!rich Price Waterhouse Waltham, MA 617-899-6500
sy13220@uunet.uucp (Richard J. Niziak) (10/08/90)
You may have to first spray some cleaning solution into a slot on the tape drive and then try the following command to run the tape: mt -f /dev/rst1 fsf 3 This should get the drive at least running to allow the tapes to run over the heads.. you will get an error message regarding bad tape but thats OK.. Rick uunet!fmrco!rickn 617-570-2614
jxh@decwrl.dec.com (Jim Hickstein) (11/01/90)
I quote from the Exabyte EXB-8200 8mm Cartridge Tape Subsystem Product
Specification, p.59:
"12. Preventive Maintenance Procedures.
"The EXB-8200 tape head/path requires cleaning once a month or after 30
gigabytes [!] of data transfer, whichever occurs first. For planning
purposes, 1 gigabyte of data is transferred for every hour of continuous
operation.
"12.1. Head/Path Cleaning Instructions.
"To clean the tape head/path, the EXABYTE 8mm Cartridge Tape Subsystem
Cleaning Kit (Part Number 727113-xxx) should be used.
"To use the cleaning kit, perform the following steps:
"1. Prepare the EXB-8200 to be cleaned by applying power to the unit.
When the power-up cycle is complete, open the door and remove any data
cartridges in the unit. Leave the door open.
"2. Place the cleaning cartridge into the EXB-8200 and close the door.
"3. The remainder of the cleaning process is automatically performed by
the EXB-8200. When the cleaning process is complete, the cleaning
cartridge is automatically unloaded and ejected from the EXB-8200. The
average [*] cleaning cycle is 15 seconds.
"4. On the cartridge label, record the date the cleaning was performed.
"5. Store the cleaning cartridge for future use.
"6. If the cleaning cartridge is ejected from the EXB-8200 without
performing a cleaning cycle (before 15 seconds), the cleaning cartridge
has reached the end of its useful life and should be discarded.
"Note: Do not rewind and re-use the cleaning cartridge.
"If you have any questions regarding this instruction or cleaning
procedure, contact the following:
EXABYTE Corporation
Attention: Technical Support
Phone: (800) 445-7736 / (303) 442-4333"
There. That ought to clear things up. It seems to sense the cleaning
cartridge by a special hole (there are quite a few little holes over in
the corner on the bottom surface. I called the dealer who sold me the
drive (Eakins Open Systems, Mtn. View CA) to order one, and discovered
that they come in a box of 5 at about $20 ea ($100 for the box). Well, it
seems steep, but then my data is worth it.
* - I make that the _minimum_ cleaning cycle. What shorter one is
acceptable when they tell you that it didn't work if it didn't run for 15
seconds? :-)
Jim Hickstein, Teradyne/Attain, San Jose CA, (408) 434-0822 FAX -0252
jxh%attain.teradyne.com@apple.com ...!{amdcad!teda,sun!teda,apple}!attain!jxh