Software Manual

• Enable Passive Test (defaults to TRUE) – analyzes drive history
(runs device analysis and looks at DDS Reports information)
• Allow overwrite (defaults to FALSE) – set to TRUE to avoid the
pop-up warning about erasing data on the tape.
• Ignore Cleaning Requests (defaults to FALSE) – when TRUE
the test will not check whether the drive is requesting cleaning
• Amount of Media to Test (defaults to 1GB for DAT72 and
below and 2GB for DAT160 and above) – select Entire tape to test
all of the tape.
• Number of Iteration (default is one) – the number of times to
run the write portion of the test.
When to run Run this test if you suspect a drive has failed. You should run the Media
Test option if you are running an SDLT 220 drive and you suspect the
drive may be damaging media, or if directed to do so by an HP tool or
support person.
Average duration Test times vary greatly depending on drive type, media quality, and
options selected. Average time for a healthy drive with good tape can
range from 10 to 20 minutes. A marginal drive (or drive with marginal
tape) may take substantially longer. Average duration for the SDLT
Assessment test with the Media Test option enabled is 20 minutes, but
it can take longer with a bad tape.
Other notes Requires a good tape that will be overwritten as part of test.
The LTO and DDS Drive Assessment test can be stopped before it
completes. To abort the test from the GUI, click Abort Test. To abort the
test from the CSI, use the Ctrl-A key combination.
The test will not run with a tape that has been partitioned.
Available for
DLT 4000/7000/8000•
• DLT1/VS80/VS160
• SDLT 220/320/600
• LTO1 (Ultrium 215 and 230), LTO2 (Ultrium 448 and 460) drives,
and LTO3 drives (Ultrium 920 and 960)
• DDS3, DDS4, and DAT72 (pre- and post-merger HP drives only)
— Original test
• DDS3, DDS4, DAT72, DAT160, and DAT320 (pre and post-merger
HP drives only) — Newer test
• 1/8 Autoloader
About the LTO drive assessment test
The LTO drive assessment test is the most important test in the L&TT diagnostics suite because it is
used to assess the health of a tape drive, providing a clear pass/fail result in about 15 minutes.
If the test reports that the drive is good, the user can be confident that the drive is working as
advertised and is not the cause of any backup or restore issues in the system. If the test fails, HP
support will accept that assessment without further diagnostics, making this a key test for both end
users and HP support.
NOTE: If there is an issue with the backup or restore process and the assessment test passes the
drive, further diagnostics are needed to find the root cause of the issue elsewhere in the system.
Diagnostic tests 103