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).