SCSI and I/O 8-67
Figure 8-35. Cassette and Drive Light Definitions
Media wear (caution) - indicates head cleaning is needed. This is an indication of an excessive number of
Read-After-Write (RAW) or third level error correction (C3 ECC) errors. This condition can be caused by
dirty heads or by a cartridge approaching the end of its life. If the flashing light reoccurs after the initial
cleaning, the data cartridge involved should be removed from use by reading the data from the tape and
copying that data to a new tape. The indication is only cleared by completing a cleaning cycle, no matter
what the cause is, however, the indication does not stop the activity of the tape unit.
Self-Test - During power-on, the drive executes a self test diagnostic sequence. This is shown by both the
drive and cassette lights flashing yellow. If the self-test fails, the right Drive light shows a steady yellow
condition while the cassette light flashes yellow.
Forced Eject
There are some situations where the user’s depression of the eject button may not cause a cartridge to be
ejected within an acceptable time. For instance, the media surface may be badly damaged and the drive is
having trouble recovering data. Or, the cartridge may be of poor quality and has jammed one of its reels
which prevents it from turning. In these and many similar situations, the drive will usually invoke a series
of error recovery actions in an attempt to carry out the task it was given before the eject button was pressed.
As the normal eject request is queued by the drive until it has completed any pending operations (i.e.
flushing data from the buffer to tape, writing EOD, rewinding, etc.) some users may become frustrated at
the apparent lack of response to their depression of the eject button. For this reason, the Forced Eject feature
is provided. This allows the user to request the drive to immediately eject the cartridge regardless of any
operations outstanding or error recovery actions in progress.
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