Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcsun!ukc!tcdcs!swift.cs.tcd.ie!dit.ie!alawlor
From: alawlor@dit.ie (Aengus Lawlor)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: DC2000 data cartridge tapes - format failure
Message-ID: <7443.2620cf98@dit.ie>
Date: 9 Apr 90 18:08:24 GMT
Organization: Dublin Institute of Technology
Lines: 20

I have an external Tape Backup unit that takes DC2000 tape cartridges.
I've recently run into a problem with it when formatting tapes. (I'm using
QicStream Ver 1.4 software). When rewinding tapes to the beginning to start
formatting, the tape winds off the reel and I get a Format Failure error.

I took one of the broken tapes apart, and I can't see any physical Begining of
Tape marker. Does anyone who is familiar with these tapes and the drives that
use them, know if this is likely to be a tape failure, or a drive failure? Are
these tapes supposed to have a visible BOT marker?

This has happened 3 times, from 2 different boxes of tapes (3M tapes, from the
same supplier, but supplied over a period of months). Given the cost of the
tapes (about #15 or $25) I'm not too keen to keep trying until I get this to
work.

I want to know who I should shout at to get this fixed!
-- 
Aengus Lawlor    Dept of Computer Science.           Time flies like an arrow,
ALAWLOR@DIT.IE   Dublin Institute of Technology.     Fruit-flies like a banana
                 Kevin Street. Dublin 8. Ireland.