J. Erik Hemdal wrote:
They were advertised as new, sealed and packaged in the original OnStream 3 pack boxes. However, I am not convinced that they weren't used and just repackaged in the original cartons.
Hi Paul:
I have a very strange problem which I am hoping maybe someone else with an Onstream ADR50 SCSI drive may have run into and can help me. I purchased 12 ADR30 cartridges off Ebay.
Were they advertised as new/sealed/certified/etc.?
Have you had success
with this vendor in the past?
Yes and no I suppose. The first 6 of 12 worked just fine.
Sep 5 19:56:18 nureyev kernel: st0: Error with sense data: Current st09:00: sense key Data Protect<>I've never seen "software write protected" tapes, but I have seen
Sep 5 19:56:18 nureyev kernel: Additional sense indicates Cannot write medium - incompatible format
Now before you all shout at me ... yes I checked the little tab ... the tapes are not physically write-protected! It is as if there was something recorded on these tapes which have "software write-protected"
soft-formatted ones. If the tapes are not truly factory-fresh and
formatted, then all bets can be off. If they were "bulk-erased" (where
someone applies an external magnetic field to thoroughly erase data), if the
tapes were mishandled en route to you or magnetically damaged, the
formatting can go awry. Then you simply might not be able to use the tapes
at all, without re-establishing a clean reformat. That might not be
possible without equipment from the tape manufacturer's factory. It's not
what's recorded on the tape that's the problem, but what ISN'T there that
needs to be.
If the tapes have been cleaned or "refurbished", the magnetic surface might
be damaged and no longer readable. Even simply erasing a tape can
physically remove the magnetic oxide surface and wreck the tape. It might
damage your drive, as well. It's impossible to know for certain without
knowing more about the situation.
Not what I wanted to hear but what I was expecting. I contacted the vendor and we will see what happens.
-- Paul (ganci@xxxxxxxxxx)
