Solaris Handbook for Sun Peripherals

Miscellaneous Tape Commands

To Display the Status of a Tape Drive

Load a tape into the tape drive.

Enter:
```
% mt -f /dev/rmt/unit_number status
```
This command locates the tape drive with the /dev/rmt/unit_number logical device name. It then displays the status of the tape drive. (See the examples below.)

If you have more than one tape drive connected to your system use the appropriate logical device name such as /dev/rmt/0, /dev/rmt/1, or /dev/rmt/2, and so on.
- Your system is able to access the tape drive and a tape cartridge is present, if the following status is displayed:
```
Exabyte EXB-8200 8mm tape drive:
  sense key(0x0)= nosense     residual= 0 retries= 0
  file no= 0    block no= 0
```
  sense key= nosense indicates that your system was able to access the tape and there were no errors. You can then use any of the backup commands described in the following sections.
- The following information tells you that the tape drive was just reset, powered on, or a tape cartridge was recently installed.
```
Exabyte EXB-8200 8mm tape drive:
  sense key(0x6)= unit attention      residual= 0 retries=
0
  file no= 0    block no=0
```
In this case, execute the mt -f /dev/rmt/0 status command again until the sense key(0x6)= unit attention advisory message is replaced with the sense key(0x0)= nosense message.
- If the following status is displayed, your system is unable to access the tape.
```
/dev/rmt/0: no tape loaded or drive offline
```
  In this case, insert a tape and execute the mt -f /dev/rmt/0 status command again.
- If the following status is displayed, your system is unable to communicate with the tape drive.
```
no such file or directory
```
In this case, verify that the tape drive is powered on and is properly connected to the system. If the same message appears try rebooting the system as described in "To Boot After Connecting a Peripheral Device".

To Tension a 1/4-inch Tape Cartridge

When you insert a blank tape cartridge into a 1/4-inch tape drive, you should perform a tensioning pass. This procedure runs the tape from one end to the other and ensures an even distribution of tension throughout the tape cartridge.

Note -

The retensioning command is not supported for Digital Data Storage (DDS) or 8mm devices.

Insert the cartridge tape into the tape drive.

Type:
```
% mt -f /dev/rmt/unit_number retension
```

To Rewind a Tape

Type:
```
% mt -f /dev/rmt/unit number rewind
```

To Clean a Tape Drive

Tape drives must be cleaned periodically. To clean a tape drive:

Insert a cleaning cartridge into the tape drive.

Consult your hardware documentation for details.