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Chapter 3 Using Your Tape Drive
A-Series Data Cartridges
Quantum A-Series Tape Drives User’s Guide 22
Data Cartridge Care and
Maintenance 3
Observe the following precautions to protect your data:
Always:
• Remove the cartridge from the drive when not in use
and store it in its protective case.
• Avoid dropping the cartridge. This can damage
components inside the cartridge, possibly rendering
the tape unusable. If you drop a tape cartridge, open
the cartridge door and make sure that the leader pin
is in the correct position.
• Re-tension a dropped cartridge before using.
• Keep the cartridge away from:
• Direct sunlight and heat sources, such as
radiators, heaters, or warm air ducts.
• Sources of electromagnetic fields, such as
telephones, computer monitors, dictation
equipment, mechanical or printing calculators,
motors, magnetic tools, and bulk erasers.
Do not:
• Expose the cartridge to dirt, dust or moisture.
• Touch the tape media within the cartridge.
• Bulk erase Ultrium tape cartridges. LTO tape
cartridges have prewritten servo patterns that
cannot be reformatted by the tape drive. A bulk
erase operation would make them unusable.
• Use tape cartridges outside the specified operating
conditions: 10
o
C to 40
o
C, 20% to 80% relative
humidity.
If a tape cartridge has been exposed to conditions
outside the specified range, recondition the tape
before using in the operating environment by
exposing it to the operating environment for a time
equal to or greater than the time it was outside the
operating environment, up to a maximum of 24
hours. Then re-tension the tape to stabilize the tape
pack for better performance.