Assigning a drive letter to a tape drive

How to assign a drive letter to an IBM Spectrum® Archive tape drive by using the Configuration panel. IBM Spectrum Archive Single Drive Edition.

Note: After IBM Spectrum Archive Windows is installed, you must assign a drive letter to each tape drive to use the program for the first time. After a drive letter is assigned, no application other than IBM Spectrum Archive Windows can access the drive. A drive letter is reserved by the system when it is assigned to a hard disk drive, CD, DVD, or network drive. When double paths for one host PC and one drive exist, two records are displayed for one drive in the Configuration panel. Either path can be selected. IBM Spectrum Archive does not automatically change a path if the one you select encounters a problem.

Figure 1. Configuration panel

The Configuration panel in Figure 1 is displayed when you open the Start menu and select IBM, then LTFS Configuration. The Windows Server 2016 can support multiple sessions. While one user has the Configuration panel open, another user can open another panel.

The Configuration panel displays the following information:

Drive Letter: Assigned or unassigned
- The Drive Letter drop-down contains the following three possible scenarios.
  - Unassigned (blank).
  - Assigned (with SCSI device address).
  - Unchangeable (reserved by the system).
Note: If a medium is mounted, no drop-down list displays, even if you select a drive letter.
Tape Drive: Details of port, bus number, target ID, logical unit number, and drive serial number (a 10-digit value).

Table 1 is an example that shows three LTFS-supported tape drives attached to a system.

Table 1. Tape drive letter status scenarios
Drive letter	Drive serial	SCSI	Newly detected	Medium is mounted
	1068000016	0, 0, 1, 0	Yes	No
I:	5062002486	1, 0, 1, 0	No	No
J: (unchangeable)	9368451283	2, 0, 1, 0	No	Yes

State: "New," "In use," or left blank (no drive letter assigned).

You can assign a new drive letter by selecting one of the options from the drop-down menu under Drive Letter, and then clicking OK. After the drive letter is assigned, you can confirm the new drive by opening Windows Explorer.

Note: A medium is mounted when a drive letter is assigned and a tape drive is detected.

If a medium is already mounted in the drive, its state is "In use." You must eject a medium first before a drive letter can be changed or removed. For more information, see Ejecting media to replace a cartridge or shut down the system. If a medium is not mounted, select the drive letter that you want to change or remove, then select another drive letter or a blank field, and click OK.