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855.558.3856
855.558.3856
Start Your Data Recovery

Data Recovery by Device

Tape Data Recovery

Damaged tapes? Missing data? Are tape media unsupported by your current storage infrastructure? We can help! No tape recovery is too big. Let our experts save you time recovering data from tape so you can do more important tasks.

Whether you have lost your tape data by corruption, physical damage or software errors, we are here to help. We recover tape data in all types and formats and from all the different vendors. We get your legacy data accessible again.

Ontrack has unmatched expertise to solve the most complex data loss challenges. With 600.000+ recoveries and more than 35 years of experience, we are the world leaders in data recovery.

Common Causes of Tape Failure and Data Loss

tape-stack

Even though tape has great longevity for data storage, a lot can happen to make the data on them inaccessible. Our engineering team has seen it all.

  • Corruption: operational error, expired tapes, mishandling of the tape, or accidental overwrites caused by inserting or partially formatting the wrong tape.
  • Physical Damage: broken tapes, dirty drives, and damage caused by fire, flood, or other natural disasters.
  • Ransomware or Malware: backup tapes erased or infected by the malware or ransomware.
  • Software Upgrades: inability for data on tape to be read by new applications or servers.

Some examples of successful recoveries include:

  • Formatted LTO
  • Quick-erased or partially overwritten data from LTO (Ultrium) tape media
  • Overwritten tapes (including DLT)
  • Snapped or burnt tapes
  • Tapes damaged by chemicals and smoke
  • Software problems or backup failures
  • Tapes immersed in flood water and mud
  • Intentional or accidental physical damage

Why Ontrack Data Recovery

Wallet

Flexible Payment Options

We understand data recovery is often an unexpected need, which is why we offer extended payment plan options through Affirm.

Payment Plans
Gray-Hard Drive 3 Any Time

Multiple Service Offerings

Ontrack offer's flexible service offerings to meet your unique needs and budgetary considerations. Our experts are on standby 24/7/365.

Recovery Process
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Complete Transparency

We want you to have control over your data recovery process. You'll know exactly what can be recovered before paying.

Customer Portal
Gray-Raid 14 unrivaled Global

Unrivaled Global Expertise

Backed by the world’s largest R&D team, we have the knowledge and ability to address your unique data recovery needs.

Data Recovery by Ontrack

Tape Data Recovery Services

blue-tapes

A proven process for Tape Recovery

Our Ontrack Data Recovery Research & Development team has been building their knowledge of Tape Recovery and resources since 1985. Our process below has proven successful.

  • Tapes and tape drives are carefully dismounted, examined, and processed
  • Proprietary tools are used to read and recover around any physically damaged areas
  • We are able to quickly image failing tapes to ensure the most complete data recovery possible

Warning: attempting to recover tape data on your own, or through an inexperienced data recovery provider, may lead to further damage. Select a data recovery provider with the resources, expertise and experience you can trust.

Tape recovery case studies

August 14, 2022

Ontrack Reclaims Animation Tape from Orly Productions

The Situation Orly Productions is one of New Zealand's most experienced film and television production companies. From i

August 14, 2022

Restore 5100 backup tapes damaged by sprinkler system contamination and freeze drying

The Situation A customer of Ontrack, a leading pharmaceutical company, needed data management expertise when tapes were

August 14, 2022

Ransomware Recoveries on Tape – Server and NAS Systems

Challenge This customer suffered a cyberattack wherein the attacked volume was originally used to back up data to LTO8 t

August 14, 2022

Ransomware Attack on Server and Backup Tapes Erased

Challenge A ransomware attack of a company server encrypted the Microsoft Dynamics 365 data and demanded payment. Recent

fingerprint-mouse

Forensic Tape Recovery

Do you have an urgent restore request for upcoming litigation? We recover forensically sound data from tape media to satisfy litigation requests. Tapes contain a snapshot of data that was present on a system at a point in time.

This could include information that is no longer available in 'active' storage, especially if – in the anticipation of an investigation - efforts have been made by a suspect to manipulate or remove potentially incriminating evidence from the live system. However, this evidence can still be found via a forensic investigation of the tapes. We can recover forensically sound data quickly when urgent restore requests arise.

Ontrack offers a wide range of backup tape services:

Our tape services consist of four straight-forward steps that make managing your archived tape an easy job.

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Migration

Whether you're migrating from your IT service provider or your tape formats are no longer supported, Ontrack can help migrate to a new system or storage medium.

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Cataloging

Organizing archive tape data can seem like a daunting task. Let us catalog your legacy data efficiently and make it easier for you to manage.

Gray-Tape Restoration 3 Any Media Type

Restoration

Ontrack can help you quickly retrieve granular information from your tape archives ensuring you are able to comply with legal and government requests.

Overview of all our Tape Services.

We recover from all backup tape media...

LTO

DLT, SuperDLT (sDLT), DLT s4

4 mm DDS, DAT, AIT, S-AIT

SLR

1/2" Open Reel

RDX

QIC

8 mm Tape Cartridges - Mammoth, M2, VXA, D2

And more...

...and backup software

Veeam

Veritas / Symantec NetBackup™

IBM® TSM Tivoli Storage Manager

CommVault®

Veritas/Symantec BackupExec™

Veritas/Symantec EnterpriseVault

Legato Networker

HP Data Protector

ARCserve®

Microsoft® Backup

Catalogic® DPX™ 

Retrospect®

TapeWare

UltraBac 

AVAMAR / EMC

Microsoft Tape Format (MTF)

Linear Tape File System (LTFS)

Linux TAR

And more...

...and different tape brands

HP

Sony

Maxwell

Fujifilm

IBM

Tandberg

Quantum

Imation

TDK

Exabyte

And more...

What Our Customers Say About Our Data Recovery Services

4-Step Data Recovery Process

We ensure that our process is transparent, quick and safe. You’ll be informed every step of the way for complete peace of mind.

Consultation Consultation

Consultation

Free consultation with quick and direct access to specialists. Contact our experts directly for comprehensive data recovery advice and a no obligation quote. Available 24/7 for business emergencies.

Evaluation Evaluation

Evaluation

The entire evaluation process is transparent, with no hidden costs. Upon receiving your storage device, our skilled engineers will conduct a thorough evaluation and provide a file list of recoverable data. Turn times will vary based on the chosen service level.

Data Recovery Data Recovery

Data Recovery

With your approval, we recover your data based on your chosen service level. Through our secure portal you can track the status of your recovery.

Data Return Data Return

Data Return

Once your data has been recovered, we’ll send it back to you on an encrypted external device via next day delivery free of charge.

855.558.3856 Start Your Data Recovery

How Fast Do You Need Your Data Back?

Our team of trusted experts are on standby to help. We offer flexible service offerings to meet your unique needs and budgetary considerations.

Emergency

Emergency

24/7 Until Completion

Priority

Priority

Average of 2-5 business days

Standard

Standard

Average of 7-14 business days

855.558.3856 Start Your Data Recovery

Tape recovery FAQ

How do I recover erased or deleted data from a tape?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is relatively simple: normally you cannot do it without specialist knowledge. As this is the most difficult and sophisticated recovery task, you need special hardware and tools to complete it. Additionally, you should have a thorough understanding of how data is structured and stored on tapes and in tape library storage systems. As most individuals without professional experience do not have this knowledge, it is advisable to contact Ontrack to recover erased or formatted tapes.

How to deal with defective tapes

If you experience problems with defective tapes, contact your tape supplier immediately. Some of them have devices that will check the problem tapes and will report back any issues.You can also purchase a similar scan tool for you or your business. This device offers the advantage of letting you know the exact number of read and write procedures, as well as the current life expectancy of the tape. With this information, you can decide if you want to use the tape for future backups. Additionally, this analysis can indicate why a tape is no longer accessible, why the cyclic redundancy check is failing, or if any read/write errors are occurring.The problem of inoperative bands is very rare with new models, but there is still a small risk of having one that does not work properly.

My backup or tape operation verification failed. What can I do?

If you're having trouble accessing your backup or if the backup process verification fails, it's not always easy to figure out where the problem is. There may be several reasons why the backup operation did not work such as if your backup tape wasn't stored properly or the tapes are simply too old. If you run into problems, try another piece of hardware or software to recover your backup.

My backup tape has taken on water. What can I do?

Water can damage the tape which can lead to data loss if untreated for too long. If your tape contains important data, you should be aware this could be lost. Do not attempt to fix your tape from water damage, such as from heat or freezing your tape, as this is likely to only decrease the chance of data restoration. Instead, contact a data recovery specialist such as Ontrack, who can recover almost all your data by using their specialist equipment to dry the tape and read its content.

My data is unreadable due to dust. What should I do?

Even if you treat your tapes with great care, they can still get dusty over time as the tape's magnetic layer attracts dust. But, if you use a dirty tape, you risk damaging the read/write head or destroying the data on the tape, due to the dust rubbing on the surface. To solve this problem, clean the tape using alcohol or a cleaning cartridge. Alternatively, use specialist machinery which removes dust and dirt by running special cleaning pads over both sides of the belt. If you choose to clean the tape yourself, be aware that opening the case is not without risk and should only be done by an experienced professional, especially as the mechanism inside is sometimes more complicated than it looks.

My tape drive is not working. How can I access the files?

A simple answer: you can't! Either you can access the tape or you can't. If your drive does not show your tape, you have no way to access your data. The solutions to this problem are as follows.
  • You have a second drive that functions specifically as emergency backup hardware. Hopefully, you can access your tapes and play them with this other drive. It is not uncommon for tapes that work perfectly well with one player but not to work with another, even if it is the same model of the same brand.
  • You can clean your tape drive and hope that it works again. This may work as these drives were designed for sustained workload and longevity.
If these methods don't work, you can look to buy a new or used player of the same make and model, or take the device to a specialist who can repair it.

My tape has CRC errors. What can I do?

CRC is short for Cyclic Redundancy Checking, a method of checking whether data is being transferred correctly over a network. Before a transmission, the original data receives an additional code, corresponding to a checksum to detect changes made to the data. When the file arrives at its destination, the checksum must be the same as before the transfer. Otherwise, the file is corrupted and a CRC error has occurred.Like a tape read/write error, in most cases, a CRC error indicates a faulty tape or a bad connection that caused the data transfer to fail. To see if this is the case, you should try the transfer again, or redo the backup. If that doesn't help, use another tape or check the cable connections to and from your tape storage system.

Resources from the Blog

Nov 8, 2023 8:00:31 AM

Recoverable Tape Types and Formats

Ontrack has the specialist knowledge and tools to help you recover from any tape format. In addition, custom development

Jun 1, 2022 12:00:00 AM

Managed Tape Services for Legacy Data Control

With businesses generating, storing, and utilizing more data than ever before, the secure storage and archiving of legac

Oct 23, 2019 12:00:00 AM

No More Data Loss Nightmares: Unlock the Secrets of Reliable Backups

Is your data backup truly secure? Let’s explore the gold-standard 3-2-1-1-0 backup rule—your blueprint for a failure-pro

May 16, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Tapes: Questions and scenarios that could help you

Storing data for long periods of time is still a requirement for many companies. Many people don’t realize that the tape

Nov 27, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Magnetic Tape - Should It Be Backed Up Or Archived?

Have you ever wondered what the two most frequently heard statements in regards to tape are? Yes? Well, here they are...

Jun 20, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Long Term Archiving: Backup for Eternity

Which storage media is best for long-term archiving?

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Experience That Matters

Ontrack has extensive experience with all types of data loss scenarios. Our goal is to provide our customers with peace of mind in the event of data loss due to hardware failure, human error, natural disasters or cyberattacks.

40

Years

In the business

1

Million+

Customers and growing

120

Petabytes+

Of recovered data

73,661,023,683

Of data files recovered over the last twenty years... and more and more every day!

Start your data recovery now with a free consultation.

Contact our team of experts.

Start Your Data Recovery
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