Provide Proper Acclimation and Environmental Conditionsv Before you use a tape cartridge, acclimate it to the operating environment for 24hours or the time necessary to prevent condensation in the drive (the time willvary, depending on the environmental extremes to which the cartridge wasexposed).v Ensure that all surfaces of a cartridge are dry before inserting it.v Do not expose the cartridge to moisture or direct sunlight.v Do not expose recorded or blank cartridges to stray magnetic fields of greaterthan 100 oersteds (for example, terminals, motors, video equipment, X-rayequipment, or fields that exist near high-current cables or power supplies). Suchexposure can cause the loss of recorded data or make the blank cartridgeunusable.v Maintain the conditions that are described in “Environmental and ShippingSpecifications for Tape Cartridges” on page 6-9.Perform a Thorough InspectionAfter purchasing a cartridge and before using it, perform the following steps:v Inspect the cartridge's packaging to determine potential rough handling.v When inspecting a cartridge, open only the cartridge door. Do not open anyother part of the cartridge case. The upper and lower parts of the case are heldtogether with screws; separating them destroys the usefulness of the cartridge.v Inspect the cartridge for damage before using or storing it.v Inspect the rear of the cartridge (the part that loads first into the tape loadcompartment) and ensure that there are no gaps in the seam of the cartridgecase. If there are gaps in the seam (see Figure 6-6 on page 6-9), the leader pinmay be dislodged.Figure 6-5. Double-boxing tape cartridges for shipping6-8 Dell PowerVault TL2000 Tape Library and TL4000 Tape Library User's Guide
