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Information Systems Technician Training Series, Module 2 - Computer Systems | Next
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Practice being a good communicator, and adopt orderly
work habits.
RECEIPT OF MAGNETIC MEDIA
One of your jobs will be to receive magnetic media
from the manufacturer (new tapes, disks, or diskettes).
The first thing you should do is check the shipping
container for obvious damage, such as crushed corners,
holes, and the like, as shown in figure 2-1. If you find
obvious damage, closely examine the media to
determine whether damage has occurred. In case of
damage, the affected media must be disposed of in
accordance
with
command
policy
or
contract
specifications.
Physically check magnetic tapes for damage. Get in
the habit of looking for such things as broken or warped
flanges and damage to the outer edges of the reel. Also,
check for damage to the wrap-around strap (see figure 2-2).
Examine disk packs for broken or cracked dust covers (see
figure 2-3). In addition, visually inspect each and every disk
surface for physical damage and warpage. Also, check the
air filter located on the bottom spindle of the pack to ensure
that it is in place and correctly inserted (mounted).
When you examine tapes, check to ensure that
reflective tape markers, the beginning-of-tape (BOT)
marker, and end-of-tape (EOT) marker are physically
located and properly placed at the beginning and at the
end of the tape. Should your command have a tape
cleaner or tape cleaner/certifier similar to the one shown
in figure 2-4, by all means use it to check out the
placement of the reflectors as well as to ensure that
nothing is internally wrong with the tape. Remember,
Figure 2-1.—A damaged tape shipping container.
Figure 2-2.—Damaged wrap-around strap.
new does not necessarily mean good. If a tape cleaner or
certifier is not available, you may be able to use the
computer to check out the tape. Some computer systems
have software programs that will allow you to test a tape
while it is on the tape drive. However, to use this
method, you must be allocated computer processing
time.
Before releasing magnetic media from the library for
use on the computer, you must ensure that the media has
been properly labeled and prepared (prepped).
LABELING MAGNETIC MEDIA
We use two types of labels for magnetic media. The
first type is placed on the outside of the media itself and
Figure 2-3.—Damaged disk dust cover.
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