Resolving LTO tape drive errors
LTO tape drives have a single-character display (SCD) that displays a code indicating drive status, including error conditions.
You can use the Table 1 only if no sense data is available. Whenever possible, use sense data or a drive's Fault Symptom Code (FSC) instead of the SCD code. For information about sense data, see the IBM LTO Tape Drive SCSI Reference.
It can be difficult to see the SCD when the tape library is active without opening the library door. An easier way to obtain information about a drive error is to determine which drive is reporting an error, then access the error log for that drive from the page of the TS4500 management GUI.
Figure 1 shows the location of the SCD.
| # | Component | # | Component |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LED indicator for power | 4 | LED indicator for info, such as error messages |
| 2 | LED indicator for drive status | 5 | LED indicator for port 0 Fiber Channel activity |
| 3 | LED indicator for library communications | 6 | LED indicator for port 1 Fiber Channel activity |
| SCD code | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | No Error. Ran successfully. |
| 1 | Cooling problem. |
| 2 | 5V dc power problem. Tape drive detected that the Drive Power Supply is approaching the specified voltage limit (drive is still operating) or is outside the specified voltage range (drive is not operating). |
| 3 | Tape drive determined that a microcode error occurred. |
| 4 | Microcode or tape drive problem. Tape drive determined that a microcode or tape drive hardware failure occurred. |
| 5 | Tape drive problem. Tape drive determined that a hardware failure occurred. |
| 6 | Tape drive or media error. Tape drive determined that an error occurred, but it cannot isolate the error due to faulty hardware or to the tape cartridge. |
| 7 | Media error. |
| 8 | Tape drive, SCSI bus or fibre channel error. |
| 9 | Tape drive or RS-422 error. |
| A | Tape drive hardware problem. |
| B | No error or message is assigned. |
| C | Tape drive needs to be cleaned. |
| D | No error or message is assigned. |
| = | The Unload button on the drive was pushed in and did not release. |
Note: The rear panel of LTO 5 and later tape drives has a power
beacon LED that indicates the drive is powered on when green. Occasionally this LED can be blue,
which does not indicate an error.