Thanks for the input. I hope to get a consensus out of many opinions, but
a
sample of one is infinitely better than a sample of zero!
Anytime. In reality you only have Seagate as your only alternative and
really could not go wrong with either one. That HP unit you have most
likely
has a Seagate inside.
Oh, I made a typo on the model, which should read Sony SDT-D11000
I do. In fact, constant retries in the verify step are the only evidence I
have so far that the drive is failing.
Or a tape getting a bit finicky? Borrow another drive and try the tape in
it.
I do that as well.
Great.
get a few extra miles from.
I would do that if the situation came up, but it never has. In nearly 15
years of using various types of DAT, I have never had a tape fail or give
evidence of impending failure. (This is one of my reasons for preferring
tape. I have had two hard disks failed in that time -- one
catastrophically,
with no warning -- and any number of CDR's that wrote and tested fine but
later proved to be unreadable.)
I don't doubt you in the least, but this is pretty much what I hear when
someone comes in asking for help or a new tape drive. They don't usually
get to this point until they do a full blown disaster recovery. If you
really want to be 110% sure you could do a full disaster recovery by
temporarily replacing your HD in your computer and give it a whirl. You
might be amazed of your results
The idea of opening up the drive and physically cleaning the heads is one
I
had not considered. It sounds worth a try, although it's not something I'd
try while I consider the drive usable at all. The drive itself is a sealed
unit, and I have no idea how openable it is.
Personally, I would open the unit up and make an attempt to salvage the DDS3
since your requirements don't require speed. The head on that unit is
really rugged and I doubt it is worn out even if you got the unit second
hand. Of course you could have other issues with the drive, but that is the
easiest and cheapest area to check first.
As for getting into the unit, you can try a couple of things. I'm assuming
its an external SCSI case? If this is the case, you will need to slide the
main frame out from the back of the case. Lightly prying the plastic up in
the rear and looking for the four plastic catches usually do this. Some
models may have at least one setscrew under the rubber feet.
Once this is done you will have the unit exposed and ready to remove the
whole assembly from the external case frame.
Next remove the four screws holding the two side rails from the tape unit.
(This is the point were the tape unit can be installed in a standard 5.25"
bay) faceplate color optional and easily found online.
After removing the side rails you will need a small Phillips to remove the
screws holding the top cover to expose the head and other mechanism.
Clean and inspect prior to assembling in reverse order. Good luck.
Rita
