Clean tape drive?

[William_Zhen]

I am using Robotic Library with Backup Exec 8.6 in windows 2000 server. How do I clean the tape drive? How offen should I clean it? Can I schedule the clean job? Thanks.

[Ken_Putnam]

Define a Cleaning Slot - See http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/234480.htm

You can schedule a job to run at regular intervals, but most drive manufacturers recommend that you not run a cleaning job until the light on the drive comes on. Cleaning tapes are mildly abrasive, and cleaning too often can shorted the life of the read/write heads

[William_Zhen]

Ken, you are great! Another question- how do I know when I should change the cleaning tape? How many cleaning cycles can a cleaning tape perform? Thanks.

[Ken_Putnam]

Generally, each cleaning tape is good for 20 passes. Most cleaning tapes come with a label with 20 check boxes on it. Tick one each time you use the tape, and toss when you tick the 20th.

[William_Zhen]

Ken, Thank you.