Erase LTO Tape ?
A brief guide to erasing LTO tapes
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LTO or Linear Tape Open is a magnetic tape data storage technology originally developed in the late 1990s. Seagate, HP and IBM initiated the LTO  Consortium, which directs development and manages licensing and certification of media and mechanism manufacturers. The standard form-factor of LTO technology goes by the name "Ultrium", the original version of which was released in 2000 and could hold 100 GB of data in a single cartridge. The most recent version was released in 2007 and can hold 800 GB in the same size cartridge. Since 2002, LTO has been the best selling "super tape" format and is widely used with computer systems for backup and data archive.
There are currently four versions available on the market, simply called LTO-1, LTO-2, LTO-3, LTO-4 and new for 2010 LTO-5.
Can I Erase LTO tape?
Yes, however if you erase LTO tapes with an eraser or degausser then the tape cannot be reused because the magnetic servo signals which are pre-written will be removed.
How do I erase LTO tapes ?
Simply overwriting the LTO tape is possible but will take several hours. There are a number of degausser or bulk tape eraser available which will completely erase LTO tape. VS Security Products recommend confirming that the tape eraser you are looking to buy will erase all your media requirements.
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LTO Erasers available from VS Security Products
| V92 Digitape Eraser, can erase the following media: Broadcast & Video: DVC Pro, Hi 8 Data: Diskettes, QIC-DC 600, 2000, TK50, 70, 85, DLT, 3480/3490E/3590E,4mm/8mm/Exabyte/Travan , LTO 1, 2 & 3 |
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| V91 Manual LTO Tape Eraser, can erase the following media: 3.5" & 5.24" PC hard drives; Super DLT I, II & III; DLT IV - VSL; 0." computer tape; Diskettes (single/boxed); DC 600, 2000; TK50, 70, 85: 3480/3490E/3590/3590E; 4mm; 800; Exabyte, Travan, DLT; DAT; ZIP Disk; Ultrium LTO 1, 2, 3, 4 and LTO-5; S-DLT; 9840; 9940 |
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| V91 Max LTO Eraser, available in the USA only. This machine can erase LTO Tapes: LT01, LT02, LT03, LT04; LTO5. 9840; 9940. DLT Tapes: Super DLT I, II & III, DLT IV-VSL, S-DLT, all hard drives and also the following magnetic tape media; . Also erases ½” Computer Tape; Diskettes – single/boxed; DC 600, 2000; TK50, 70, 85, 3480/3490E/3590/3590E; mm; 8mm; Exabyte; Travan; DLT; DAT; ZIP Disk; Ultrium |
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| SV91M Degausser, CESG Approved, and can erase a range of magnetic media including high density metal tapes and cassettes; LTO Tapes: LT01, LT02, LT03, LT04; LTO5. 9840; 9940. DLT Tapes: Super DLT I, II & III, DLT IV-VSL, S-DLT, all hard drives and also the following magnetic tape media; . Also erases ½” Computer Tape; Diskettes – single/boxed; DC 600, 2000; TK50, 70, 85, 3480/3490E/3590/3590E; mm; 8mm; Exabyte; Travan; DLT; DAT; ZIP Disk; Ultrium |
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| V870 Bulk LTO Eraser , can erase the following media: Cassettes: 4 and 8mm, S-VHS, VHS, Audio, Betacam, Betamax, DAT, Compact Cassettes; Super DLT I, II and III; Ultrium LTO; DLT IV-VSL; 3590; |
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| SDD Master, for those that require a confirmed secure method to erase the following media: 2.5" & 3.5" hard drives [up to a physical max. of 4"x 1"x5.8" (WxHxD). Longitudinal & Perpendicular. DLT; S-DLT; LTO1, 2, 3 & 4; 3480/3490/34901e, 3590, 9840 & T9940 tape; Ultrium & Redwood SD-3 tape & cartridges; Mammoth 1 & 2, 8mm, AIT1 & 2, M2 tape; DDS 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, DD-2 & DFT-1 & 2 |
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| SV90 CESG Approved Eraser , approved by the UK Government and meets the specified requirements of CESG Degausser Standard for the secure erasure and destruction of information and data stored on magnetic media up to the restricted and below level. Also meets German security approval DIN33858. Secure erasing of the following media: Reels:- ½" & 1" NAB (16"max), Adapters required for ¼" NAB, ½" IBM & ¼" DIN, for 2" tapes only special SV90/2 is required: Cassettes:- carriages available for Beta SP, digital Betacam, Mll, VHS, R-DAT 8mm, U-matic, Betacam 3480, 3590; TK50, 75, 85; DC600, DC1000 ; Super DLT I, II & III; Ultrium LTO 1, 2 & 3; DLT IV - VSL |
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Please contact us if you have any questions or need advice on choosing the right LTO tape eraser. |
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