[Sunhelp] Tape drive problems. somewhat off topic

[Dale Ghent]

On Mon, 23 Oct 2000, Jonathan Eisch wrote:

| Hi All,
| 
| I've been using my HP DDS-2 drive (C1533C) to back up my Sun box for the
| last few months, to back up my sun systems, but all of a sudden, it has
| problems writing and reading my tapes, and it complains about needing
| cleaning after only a very short while.  I've used the cleaning
| Cartridge several times, but no change.  When I hooked it up the my NT
| with HP tape tools, and I ran it through the diagnostics, and it gets
| errors writing to the tape, and says that I probably have a problem with
| my drive.  Any hints on how to 'really' clean it out (even if it may be
| in a somewhat unorthodox manner)?

A screwdriver (the hardware kind, not the drink), isopropyl alcohol, and
some cotton swabs. Take the unit apart, clean the tape heads, and take
care not to get alcohol on any rubber parts (wheels, etc) in the unit.

It might be a good idea to take a can of compressed air and blow the dust
out, too. Before you clean the tape heads, of course.

/dale