Introduction

The everyday exchange of media in and out of drives, and its movement from one place to another, demand robust data storage which can tolerate frequent handling and withstand sudden changes in climatic conditions. HP DDS tape cartridges are tested to extremes on HP DAT drives, making them the optimum choice for customers. Extensive, continuous and rigorous tests are performed in a unique range of environments. HP DAT drives are backward compatible, which means, for example, that a DDS-3 drive can read from and write to DDS-1 and DDS-2 tape cartridges. They are not, however, forward compatible - a DDS-1 drive cannot use a DDS-2 cartridge. There may be occasions when you need to use other media in your HP tape drive. For example, you may wish to recover archived information from an old tape or need to use a previous DDS format when you run out of your usual data cartridges. Using a previous format means you will not achieve your drive's maximum capacity or transfer rates. And while occasional usage is acceptable, using a format that does not match your drive for a prolonged period may accelerate tape head wear. For these reasons, use the recommended type of cartridge for your HP drive whenever possible. To avoid loss of data and damage to your drive, all HP DDS cartridges feature the Media Recognition System. This enables DDS-format tape drives to recognize the difference between DDS and other media formats and prevents you from accidentally writing valuable data to basic DAT or other incompatible media. Cartridges which do not have the Media Recognition System are not certified and their integrity cannot be guaranteed for data storage purposes. Warranties for HP DDS drives do not cover damage caused by the use of DAT cartridges.

Specifications

• Media Type DDS/DAT
  
• Media Form Factor Proprietary
  
• Compatibility PC