Any of you guys happen to know how many times an LT03 tape can be overwritten before it's no good?

Any of you guys know what the hell I'm talking about?

I'm Googling too. The Google-Fu is weak this dreary dark morning.

My office is super creepy when no one's here, too. Eff Why Eye.

Thanks.

ell tee zero?

i think you mean ell tee oh... linear tape-open. the tapes themselves can be reused for decades theoretically, but the data itself doesn't last as long. it's just magnetic media. how many times can you format a hard drive before it breaks?

i think the official answer would be "a lot."

What he said. Basically if the tape is written over consistently (like once a month), it will essentially outlast its lifetime. But if you want a specific number of times -- I can ask one of our manufacturers.

Yeah. Ell Tee Oh. Whatever.

That would be awesome.

We're overwriting them once a month right now.

Spanks Frank! You rock.

All my tech-peeps are in VM Ware training (retarded, but thats a long story). I've also been training this week. Hopefully I can get your answer sometime today.

~5,000 Load/Unload times (1 Load/Mo. = 416 2/3 years). Meaning the entire tape can be written to or read from 5,000 times. Most tape companies put lifetime warranties on their tapes.

The tape drive is what dies before this. The tape drive can also destroy your tapes if it is not cleaned regularly. Most drives come with a cleaning tape that will need to be replaced regularly -- not sure on specifics.

Thanks a bunch Frank!

x2