Introduced in 2000, LTO Ultrium has been the fastest growing format for the backup of high end systems, and has even been gaining market share towards the lower end of the market, and with it have come new data recovery challenges. The recording format is probably the most complex of all tapes, this is not a negative comment as it is the complexity that allows the density of recording and the reliability that the format gives.
Common Problems
- LTO drive partially unloads and reloads the tape before finally ejecting.
- LTO Ultrium drive starts 'shoe-shining' then the restore process fails.
- A tearing or flapping sound heard, the drive stops and the error lights illuminate.
- The restore process appears to have hang. The restoration cannot be cancelled.
- The LTO does not contain the data you expected, or reports as being blank.
At Altirium we have dealt with data recovery work following each of the above symptoms. These cover most eventualities, though each case might be subtly different.
LTO drive partially unloads and reloads the tape before finally ejecting.
The drive is failing in attempts to access critical data at the beginning of the tape, or else it cannot resolve what it is reading against the information that is stored in the LTO cartridge memory. Ultrium tape is pre-formatted with servo and other data information, this is done whilst the tape is in a single large reel (the "pancake") before it is sub-divided into separate reels. Information about the tape in a particular reel is encoded within the CM chip and this must be valid and match the tape in the reel. Any difference, or corruption of chip data, and the tape will not be usable.
LTO Ultrium drive starts 'shoe-shining' then the restore process fails.
"Shoe-shining" is the backwards and forwards motion of the tape that occurs when there are problems with the flow of data to the drive, or with reading from or writing to the tape. If following a period of backwards-forwards motion the drive stops and the restore fails then there is probably a media flaw. It could be that there is dirt on the drive heads, in which case cleaning might help.
It is worth listening to the drive when the tape is moving to hear if there are any sounds indicating damage. The noise when damage is present is difficult to describe, a sort of "crinkling" noise or a flapping sound. Really, any sound that differs from the normal tape motion noise could indicate damage and if there is tape damage then repeated attempts to access the tape could make this worse and a tape data recovery service might be the only option.
A tearing or flapping sound heard, the drive stops and the error lights illuminate.
These symptoms are likely to indicate that the tape has either snapped or run off from the end of the reel. The important thing is to take no precipitate action. When a tape runs off the supply reel in the cartridge then there is a problem with the drive.
Pulling the tape out of the drive and hoping a recovery will be practicable is not a good idea, when tape gets crumpled the data is destroyed. Unless you know precisely how to get the tape from within the drive without making the problem worse, then seek the help of a professional tape data recovery company.
The restore process appears to have hang. The restoration cannot be cancelled.
The LTO drive has locked, usually this is caused by encountering some abnormal circumstance that causes the drive firmware to crash. A severe recording problem on the tape is the most likely cause of this, powering off the drive and then switching it back on again will probably allow you to eject the tape. A reboot of the system to which the Ultrium drive is attached might also be required.
This could be the result of a drive failure, a problem on the SCSI bus, or with the tape. Switching everything off and then restarting might clear the problem.
Testing should be done with a tape you do not care about, if the drive is failing then something far worse could happen. What you do not want is to end up needing a tape recovery, and potentially having lost some data, when really all you needed was a new drive or cable.
The LTO does not contain the data you expected, or reports as being blank.
The LTO cartridge could have been erased, re-labelled or overwritten.
Any overwriting will have destroyed some data at the beginning of the tape but if the overwrite is short compared with the original backup then there will be a lot of data that can be recovered.
