Ricimer wrote on 2023-06-18, 17:33:

Nexxen wrote on 2023-06-18, 16:57:

I tested the unit and reports "Mount tape" ABORTED (EC 6 error code)
Trying to Mount Tape it goes back and forth seeking but eventually fails.

I'll try a cleaning tape (no idea how) or open and go with IPA and cotton bud?

As the tape is loading/unloading and trying to seek this is a good sign, it could be that the heads are dirty and a cleaning tape is all that is required. I have more success with repairing drives with mechanical loading issues or snapped tapes than ones that don't respond to a good clean though - the heads are delicate and easily damaged.

Electricians in servers rooms are my nemesis, I've lost a lot of customer drives to plaster/brick dust getting sucked in (most lto drive generations have a fan inside).

The guy that gave it to me had it stored in his basement for years.
Scary 😀

I'll clean the heads sometime next week and hop it does it.

Thanks for your replies, it did help!

Bottom side.

https://youtu.be/RhvvbpD2Akc
Here it shows 2 yellow leds, but when it fails mounting it usually just goes back to green.

Nexxen wrote on 2023-06-18, 19:35:

Bottom side.

https://youtu.be/RhvvbpD2Akc
Here it shows 2 yellow leds, but when it fails mounting it usually just goes back to green.

It all sounds ok, does it eventually give up and eject the tape? I'm guessing it can't read the start of the tape so halts with an error. LTO cleaning tapes aren't that cheap although they are universal (they clean all lto version drives).

If it a choice of fix it or trash it then this guide looks pretty good as an idea of what's involved (although for lto5) http://sbfmdrv.blogspot.com/2018/11/disassemb … g-lto-tape.html
I normally give up if it's not jammed and a clearing tape doesn't work as I'm using them for work and need to rely on the backups they produce.

I get to deal with lto autoloaders too which is also a lot of error codes and broken cogs!

Ricimer wrote on 2023-06-18, 20:19:

It all sounds ok, does it eventually give up and eject the tape? I'm guessing it can't read the start of the tape so halts with […]
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Nexxen wrote on 2023-06-18, 19:35:

Bottom side.

https://youtu.be/RhvvbpD2Akc
Here it shows 2 yellow leds, but when it fails mounting it usually just goes back to green.

It all sounds ok, does it eventually give up and eject the tape? I'm guessing it can't read the start of the tape so halts with an error. LTO cleaning tapes aren't that cheap although they are universal (they clean all lto version drives).

If it a choice of fix it or trash it then this guide looks pretty good as an idea of what's involved (although for lto5) http://sbfmdrv.blogspot.com/2018/11/disassemb … g-lto-tape.html
I normally give up if it's not jammed and a clearing tape doesn't work as I'm using them for work and need to rely on the backups they produce.

I get to deal with lto autoloaders too which is also a lot of error codes and broken cogs!

No, it doesn't eject the tape all the time. Rewind doesn't.
I watched some other videos and the dirt that can make it in is surpsing.

Read the article and it is interesting. If I'll do the job this week I'll take pics to post, might help.

Again, thanks for the support!

if nothing helps , before trowing it away , use electronic contact cleaner inside.... DDS cleaning tape worked fine to fix my error , but I don't have any experiance with LTO

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-06-21, 08:00:

if nothing helps , before trowing it away , use electronic contact cleaner inside.... DDS cleaning tape worked fine to fix my error , but I don't have any experiance with LTO

I've thrown away enough stuff to go round the Himalaya in repentance at least 5 times.
And I mean going down every 3 steps.

I'll try the contact cleaner if nothing happens after a thorough pass on dirt.

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-06-21, 08:00:

if nothing helps , before trowing it away , use electronic contact cleaner inside.... DDS cleaning tape worked fine to fix my error , but I don't have any experiance with LTO

Still same error after cleaning inside and head.
It behaves like it can't read the tape. Probably I need to replace the head.

Error is EC 6.
If anyone wants it...

Nexxen wrote on 2023-06-25, 13:21:

Still same error after cleaning inside and head. It behaves like it can't read the tape. Probably I need to replace the head. […]
Show full quote

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-06-21, 08:00:

if nothing helps , before trowing it away , use electronic contact cleaner inside.... DDS cleaning tape worked fine to fix my error , but I don't have any experiance with LTO

Still same error after cleaning inside and head.
It behaves like it can't read the tape. Probably I need to replace the head.

Error is EC 6.
If anyone wants it...

Here is what I found regarding the Error :
"
My Tape Drive is Showing an EC6 error. What do I do?

IBM EC6 Report:

If the problem occurred while the tape drive was writing data to the tape, retry the operation with a different cartridge:

If the operation succeeds, the original cartridge was defective. Copy data from the defective cartridge and discard it.
If the operation fails and another tape drive is available, insert the cartridge into the other unit and retry the operation.

If the operation fails, discard the defective cartridge.
If the operation succeeds, insert a scratch data cartridge into the first unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, the error was temporary.

If the operation fails and another tape drive is not available, insert a scratch data cartridge into the unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, discard the cartridge. "

{"So an error code 6 normally means that there is a possible hardware issue. What I would do is to hold in the eject button for about 20 seconds till all the lights on the drive light up & then release & let the drive reboot. If the drives comes up without any errors then I would run the cleaning media into the drive & let it clean the drive just to make sure that there are no errors. If the drive comes back with the EC 6 on the display then we will need to look at the drive dump log from the drive to see what is causing the EC 6."}

other relevant links for You

BTW , can you update your drive's firmware to the last version?(may help).

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-07-03, 16:55:

Here is what I found regarding the Error : " My Tape Drive is Showing an EC6 error. What do I do? […]
Show full quote

Nexxen wrote on 2023-06-25, 13:21:

Still same error after cleaning inside and head. It behaves like it can't read the tape. Probably I need to replace the head. […]
Show full quote

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-06-21, 08:00:

if nothing helps , before trowing it away , use electronic contact cleaner inside.... DDS cleaning tape worked fine to fix my error , but I don't have any experiance with LTO

Still same error after cleaning inside and head.
It behaves like it can't read the tape. Probably I need to replace the head.

Error is EC 6.
If anyone wants it...

Here is what I found regarding the Error :
"
My Tape Drive is Showing an EC6 error. What do I do?

IBM EC6 Report:

If the problem occurred while the tape drive was writing data to the tape, retry the operation with a different cartridge:

If the operation succeeds, the original cartridge was defective. Copy data from the defective cartridge and discard it.
If the operation fails and another tape drive is available, insert the cartridge into the other unit and retry the operation.

If the operation fails, discard the defective cartridge.
If the operation succeeds, insert a scratch data cartridge into the first unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, the error was temporary.

If the operation fails and another tape drive is not available, insert a scratch data cartridge into the unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, discard the cartridge. "

{"So an error code 6 normally means that there is a possible hardware issue. What I would do is to hold in the eject button for about 20 seconds till all the lights on the drive light up & then release & let the drive reboot. If the drives comes up without any errors then I would run the cleaning media into the drive & let it clean the drive just to make sure that there are no errors. If the drive comes back with the EC 6 on the display then we will need to look at the drive dump log from the drive to see what is causing the EC 6."}

other relevant links for You

BTW , can you update your drive's firmware to the last version?(may help).

I'll certainly try all this and report back.
On ething I know is that the cartridge works, I have to get a cleaning one as I don't currently own one.
After watching a YT video I'll have to do some lubricant job, being 15 years old it is mandatory at this point.
Thank you!!

Nexxen wrote on 2023-07-03, 17:08:

I'll certainly try all this and report back. On ething I know is that the cartridge works, I have to get a cleaning one as I don […]
Show full quote

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-07-03, 16:55:

Here is what I found regarding the Error : " My Tape Drive is Showing an EC6 error. What do I do? […]
Show full quote

Nexxen wrote on 2023-06-25, 13:21:

Still same error after cleaning inside and head. It behaves like it can't read the tape. Probably I need to replace the head. […]
Show full quote

Still same error after cleaning inside and head.
It behaves like it can't read the tape. Probably I need to replace the head.

Error is EC 6.
If anyone wants it...

Here is what I found regarding the Error :
"
My Tape Drive is Showing an EC6 error. What do I do?

IBM EC6 Report:

If the problem occurred while the tape drive was writing data to the tape, retry the operation with a different cartridge:

If the operation succeeds, the original cartridge was defective. Copy data from the defective cartridge and discard it.
If the operation fails and another tape drive is available, insert the cartridge into the other unit and retry the operation.

If the operation fails, discard the defective cartridge.
If the operation succeeds, insert a scratch data cartridge into the first unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, the error was temporary.

If the operation fails and another tape drive is not available, insert a scratch data cartridge into the unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, discard the cartridge. "

{"So an error code 6 normally means that there is a possible hardware issue. What I would do is to hold in the eject button for about 20 seconds till all the lights on the drive light up & then release & let the drive reboot. If the drives comes up without any errors then I would run the cleaning media into the drive & let it clean the drive just to make sure that there are no errors. If the drive comes back with the EC 6 on the display then we will need to look at the drive dump log from the drive to see what is causing the EC 6."}

other relevant links for You

BTW , can you update your drive's firmware to the last version?(may help).

I'll certainly try all this and report back.
On ething I know is that the cartridge works, I have to get a cleaning one as I don't currently own one.
After watching a YT video I'll have to do some lubricant job, being 15 years old it is mandatory at this point.
Thank you!!

yeah , there are some YT videos out there , if you get stuck just say so and I will help search more.(info)

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-07-04, 12:48:

Nexxen wrote on 2023-07-03, 17:08:

I'll certainly try all this and report back. On ething I know is that the cartridge works, I have to get a cleaning one as I don […]
Show full quote

ediflorianUS wrote on 2023-07-03, 16:55:

Here is what I found regarding the Error : " My Tape Drive is Showing an EC6 error. What do I do? […]
Show full quote

Here is what I found regarding the Error :
"
My Tape Drive is Showing an EC6 error. What do I do?

IBM EC6 Report:

If the problem occurred while the tape drive was writing data to the tape, retry the operation with a different cartridge:

If the operation succeeds, the original cartridge was defective. Copy data from the defective cartridge and discard it.
If the operation fails and another tape drive is available, insert the cartridge into the other unit and retry the operation.

If the operation fails, discard the defective cartridge.
If the operation succeeds, insert a scratch data cartridge into the first unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, the error was temporary.

If the operation fails and another tape drive is not available, insert a scratch data cartridge into the unit and run the drive diagnostics.

If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive.
If the diagnostics succeed, discard the cartridge. "

{"So an error code 6 normally means that there is a possible hardware issue. What I would do is to hold in the eject button for about 20 seconds till all the lights on the drive light up & then release & let the drive reboot. If the drives comes up without any errors then I would run the cleaning media into the drive & let it clean the drive just to make sure that there are no errors. If the drive comes back with the EC 6 on the display then we will need to look at the drive dump log from the drive to see what is causing the EC 6."}

other relevant links for You

BTW , can you update your drive's firmware to the last version?(may help).

I'll certainly try all this and report back.
On ething I know is that the cartridge works, I have to get a cleaning one as I don't currently own one.
After watching a YT video I'll have to do some lubricant job, being 15 years old it is mandatory at this point.
Thank you!!

yeah , there are some YT videos out there , if you get stuck just say so and I will help search more.(info)

Thanks for the support!
I'll probably need it 😀