ISSUE
Symptom
- Tape media errors occur
- Tape write errors appearing in the logs
- Devices experiencing problems with writing to tape
Possible Causes
- Dirty tapes or tape heads
- The tape is worn
- The tape is marked full
Resolutions
If tape write errors occur in the logs, clean the tape device with a fresh cleaning tape. Keep in mind that cleaning tapes are designed to be used only a limited number of times and must be changed periodically, and should be used with a frequency indicated by your tape drive manufacturer (usually every 8 – 50 hours of use).
Additionally, for some of the 4mm and 8mm drives, the cleaning tape needs to be used two or three times in a row to fully clean the heads.
Try using a new tape to get better results. If a tape encounters a media error while writing data, the tape is marked full. Subsequent backups cannot be appended to this tape. Thus, if there is a single tape, all subsequent backup queued to this tape device fail until a new tape is inserted.