Tape Analysis

LTO & 3592 tape analysis service - in detail

This service analyses the tape's CM (cartridge memory), which is an RF chip within the tape, to test for problems recorded on the chip. This is a non-invasive analysis that cannot damage the tape or data stored on it, as it simply reads the RFID chip. This ensures that your valuable data is written to tapes that are of good quality. Tapes do degrade through use and environmental conditions, so isn’t it better to find out before you have a permanent read or write error? This way, you can identify and replace the failing tapes before they cause problems and potential data loss. Additionally, it will help you determine if a particular drive is failing, especially if you have multiple drives. Ask us for a quote on this service for your LTO tapes as they come up for re-use!

VHS tape cleaning and retensioning services

If your VHS tapes hold invaluable life memories and are experiencing issues, we can clean and restore them. Provided the VHS tape recorder/player heads are in good condition, this process will help restore the picture quality.

Life of an LTO Tape

Did you know that the LTO cartridge has many definitions for the life of the cartridge, all very difficult to compare with most tape usage. The best way to use an LTO tape is to write to it once and store it in the correct environment (20 degrees centigrade +/- 2 degrees, 40-60% Relative Humidity, and a dust-free environment). It should last 30 years under these conditions. 1,000 passes measure the life of an LTO tape. A pass is where a tape changes direction in a read or write process. This translates to between 100 and 260 uses, and the tape is then recommended to be retired and replaced. You can get a longer life than this, but read and write errors increase, and eventually, full data restore becomes questionable. All tapes must be acclimated to the environment they will be used in for 24 hours after receiving them! This will extend their life and reduce errors.