I can't remove the left magazine from a Superloader 3. The unit has failed and I need to remove the tapes. The eject magazine does not work, it doesn't pull the drive gear back.

Your question is not very clear.

Is the drive not accepting a new tape or is it not accepting a new cleaning tape?

LTO Cleaning tapes have a life span of between 20 and 50 cleans and once they go above this they expire and do not work again. I suggest you try using a brand new cleaning tape to try the cleaning cycle again and then try your backup again with a brand new tape too. This should eliminate all your media from you list of problems.

If the Superloader continues to either reject tapes or the cleaning light / alert persists then i am afraid it will need to be sent for repair as it is likely the read write heads will need replacement / service.

Visit the link below and they should be able to help and offer a full warranty too.
Autoloader Repair Service Adv Exch loan units available

Hi Adrian

I would suggest sending it to www.tape-drive-repair.com for them to fix as once the tape has been removed you will still probably have the original fault that caused the tape to get stuck.

If you do try and remove the tape yourself be extremely careful as those drives are very easy to break the load mech and tape leader assy if you dont know exactly how to remove them.

Bear in mind the tape may not actually be stuck though!

Try powering off and on the loader with it disconnected from the server just in case it is your backup software not letting the drive eject the media as this is a common issue (where the software tells the drive it is using the tape (or hasnt finished with it) and stops the eject button from accidental operation)

The element error usually points to the drive, the best thing is to do is run the full diagnostics for the drive, and see what other hardware codes you receive, if it still points to 2b, then it is either the drive or the solenoid of the magazine failing. If you have a two magazine setup, just reverse the other magazine and test it that way.

The best way that I have solved this is by using the move commands from the drive, and move it from drive to any free tape slot. Also if that does not work, put a few tapes in the drive and perform the random moves test in diagnostics, that will fool the drive to move the tape.

First off, I have to say that I have had nightmares with Quantum tape libraries. It is possible that they are still manufacturing lemons. I had one replaced 4-times and it still did not work!

Start troubleshooting by making sure that it is identified by the controller card it is connected to. You should see this during the server POST before Windows starts. If you don't see it there then Windows definitely won't see it. Send it to Quantum for service.

If the controller sees it then make sure that you are using the Backup Exec drivers. Never use the manufacturer's drivers with Backup Exec. Veritas, now Symantec, has a downloadable utility called the Device Driver Installation Wizard that will make sure you have the correct driver loaded.

I hope this helps.

Hi,

if the back up job has completed it should eject or
you should be able to tell the software you are using for a back up to eject.
or there should be an eject botton on the front of your tape drive.

Good Luck

You have to disassemble the unit and remove the tape. Chances are it's stuck in the carousel (the round thing at the front that spins tapes and plugs them into the drive).

Same problem with Backup Exec 10d and Superloader 3 LTO-3.
This is not my first problem with this Superloader. I think it is garbage and will likely be in the garbage very soon. Very expensive garbage unfortunately.

you have to open the bottom and turn the motor or gears , just be sure to turn the cartridge gears too to wind the tape back in