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CAUTION:
Write-protection will not prevent a cartridge being erased by bulk-erasure or degaussing. Do not
bulk erase LTO Ultrium format cartridges. This will destroy pre-recorded servo information and render
the cartridge unusable.
Cartridge life
Under optimum environmental conditions, HP LTO Ultrium cartridges are currently specified to
1,000,000 passes over any part of the tape. However, it is recommended that cartridges are used
for no more than 260 full backup operations. Under severe environmental conditions, particularly
where the tape drive is used at low humidity or if certain areas of the tape are accessed frequently,
the number of backup operations should be limited even further.
Caring for cartridges
Avoiding condensation
Condensation is a problem for tape drives and cartridges. To minimize the chance of condensation,
stay within the specifications for using and storing cartridges below and observe the following
guidelines:
•
Position the drive where the temperature is relatively stable—away from open windows, heat
sources and doors.
•
Avoid leaving cartridges in severe temperature conditions, for example, in a car standing in bright
sunlight.
•
Avoid transferring data (reading from and writing to cartridges) when the temperature is changing
by more than 1°C (1°F) per hour.
•
If you bring a cold tape drive or tape cartridge into a warm room, allow time for it to warm to
room temperature before using it. For example, if you have moved the drive from a cold car to a
warm room, allow time for the drive to reach room temperature (up to 24 hours if the temperature
change is extreme).
Conditions in use
Only use LTO Ultrium cartridges in temperatures within the tape drive's operating range from 10°C
to 40°C (50°F to 104°F) and 20 to 80% relative humidity (non-condensing). If you expose cartridges
to temperatures outside the operating limits, stabilize them before you use them. To do this, leave the
cartridges in the operating environment for 24 hours.
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Cartridges
To write-protect a cartridge, slide the write-protect tab by the label area
on the rear face of the cartridge to close the hole.
Note the padlock on the tab that indicates that the cartridge is protected.
To write-enable a cartridge, slide the write-protect tab back so that the
hole is open, before loading the cartridge into the drive.
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Troubleshooting
