re tape drive problems in article ux cso uiuc edu husak ux cso uiuc edu stephen r husak writes please reply via e mail since this is job related i have a colorado jumbo back up system at one of my places of employment and it has eaten two tapes by winding the tape off the spool is there an easy fix or is the tape drive fried does it simply need cleaning any and all comments will be appreciated stephen husak what am i trying to do what am i trying to say i m not trying to tell you anything you didn t know when you woke up today depeche mode nothing music for the masses stephen r husak husak ux cso uiuc edu univerisity of illinois does it do it to all tapes were the two tapes that it unwound of the same type from the same batch the reason i ask is that i bought some generic tapes that did this and found that the tape markers were not fully punched out and had closed the little marker hole it was only on a few tapes of a set did you open up the tape cartridge and put the tape back on the reels if you have not yet open it up by removing the two screws on the bottom of the tape cartridge and snap the plastic shell away from the metal base as you are pulling the tape through the assembly try not to touch any more than you have to as you are doing it look for a couple of little holes in the tape these are the marker holes which let the tape drive know when it is at the end of the tape the holes are spaced a couple of inches apart my best guess is that the drive finds the first marker and then stops on the second marker anyhow if the tape has the holes then check to see if the mirror on the tape is clean the function of the mirror is to detect the marker holes the tape drive shines a light at the mirror and has a pickup in the area where the reflection would come out when the hole goes by the pickup detects the light that was allowed to pass and it knows when to stop if the mirror is dirty or out of alighment unlikely since it is made into the case you might have a problem detecting the end of the tape if the tape drive does it on all tapes and the tapes all look good then either the pickup or the led of the sensor system has failed or is dirty if you open the drive door you will see the sensor assembly to the left of the r w head assembly if it looks clean and nothing is in its way then the drive may need to be serviced it is possible that the led is burned out or the sensor is out if it is still in warranty you might be able to send it back to cms for repair scott hiles whiles relay nswc navy mil standard disclaimer the opinions expressed are those of my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the dod or the navy i accept full responsibility
