Media error on Exabyte

[Dave Olson]

In <1990Nov2.003444.4650 at odin.corp.sgi.com> olson at anchor.esd.sgi.com (Dave Olson) writes:
| 1) your heads need cleaning.  Get the dry (not wet) cleaning kit and
|    clean the heads.  This can make a big difference.  Remember that 
|    the heads should be cleaned on a regular basis, and more often
|    when using new tapes, since they tend to shed more coating.
| 
| 2) Get certified data tapes if 1) doesn't work.  In any case, we
|    have been told by Exabyte tech people to avoid Maxell and TDK,
|    (as of a year OK; the situation may have changed since then)
|    and to NOT use MP (metal particle) tapes.  Sony tapes seem to
|    work pretty well (which isn't surprising, since they make the
|    Exabyte Data tapes).  A number of other brands seem to work OK
|    also.

I got more information about the tape types.  It turns out that MP
(metal particle) is OK to use, the type to avoid is something called
'high band' or 'super-resolution'; I haven't run across this stuff,
since I don't use 8mm video equipment, so I don't know the technical
name for it.  I'm sorry for the mis-information; I apparently
misunderstood the reply last time I asked Exabyte support.

Also, the Exabyte support person I talked to  still says to avoid
Maxell, and recommends (if you aren't going to use Data Grade tapes)
the Sony or Fuji brands.  Apparently TDK is now in the OK, but not
great category.

Finally, the cleaning kits seem to still be available only through
Exabyte and their distributors (i.e., you won't find it at most
computer supply operations).  I still haven't found out if SGI carries
the cleaning kits; talk to your local SGI sales office if you really
need to know.
--

	Dave Olson

Life would be so much easier if we could just look at the source code.