Recognizing a Data Loss Situation (continued) Tape Media ØCorrupted tape headers: ØTape appears empty of data (blank) but should be full. ØTape should be full but has very little data with an early EOD (End-of-Data) marker. ØAccidental overwriting of headers renders the tape invisible or inaccessible to the restore program.
ØAccidental reformatting or erasure of tape. ØTape has become un-spooled inside the cartridge. ØObvious physical damage. ØTape media stretched, snapped or split. ØVisible fire or water damage. ØMedia surface contamination and damage. ØTape cannot be read past a worn-out or contaminated area. ØTape backup software corruption. Optical Media ØSector read errors preventing access to certain files. ØMessage: ”This disk is not formatted. Would you like to format now”?
ØCorrupted filesystem structures show empty or invalid (e.g. FAT, directories, partition entries). Auto-loaders and Jukeboxes Both optical and tape media libraries or multi-volumes can be maintained through automation. To secure an archival copy, an (offsite) backup copy or for other reasons, rotations are required by the technicians to cycle the media in and out of the autoloaders. As these can be complex systems, any rotational error can cause data to be over-written or incorrect EOD/EOT markers to be written to the tape.
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