Can you read old tapes without the original drive?

Often yes, as long as the tape is readable and we have a suitable drive for that format. Tell us the type printed on the cartridge and we will check.

I no longer have the backup software. Is that a problem?

Not necessarily. Where possible we extract the files directly from the backup format, even without the original software or catalogue.

A tape was overwritten by accident. Can anything still be recovered?

What was overwritten is gone. But a tape is often only partly overwritten, and what follows on the tape can sometimes still be read. Stop writing immediately and request an analysis.

Can you read encrypted LTO tapes?

Only with the key. LTO encryption is designed so that data is unreadable without the key. So look up the key in your backup software or key management.

How long does a tape last?

Manufacturers quote up to 30 years for LTO when stored well. In practice it depends on temperature, humidity and use. The biggest risk is often not the tape, but that no working drive or software is left to read it.

What does reading or recovering tapes cost?

That depends on the format, the number of tapes and their condition. The analysis is free and without obligation: you hear what is possible and what it costs before you decide anything.

Reading and recovering tapes: LTO, DAT, DLT and more • Datarecuperatie

Why tapes are still used

Tape is cheap per terabyte, lasts a long time and sits off the network. That is why companies still use it for backups and archives, and as a last line of defence against ransomware: a tape in a cupboard cannot be encrypted.

Those advantages become a drawback when the data has to come back: the drive is no longer in the rack, the backup software is no longer installed, or the tape itself is damaged.

Modern tapes: LTO

LTO (Linear Tape-Open) is the standard today. Each generation roughly doubles the capacity:

Generation	Capacity (uncompressed)	Since about
LTO-9	18 TB	2021
LTO-8	12 TB	2017
LTO-7	6 TB	2015
LTO-6	2.5 TB	2012
LTO-5	1.5 TB	2010
LTO-4	800 GB	2007
LTO-3	400 GB	2005
LTO-2	200 GB	2003
LTO-1	100 GB	2000

An LTO drive usually only reads its own generation and one or two generations back; for LTO-8 and LTO-9 just one. Reading older LTO tapes therefore often needs an older drive.
From LTO-4 onwards the drive can encrypt data. Without the key that data is unreadable, for us too.
From LTO-5 onwards there is LTFS, which makes a tape behave like an ordinary disk with folders and files.

Besides LTO there are enterprise formats such as IBM 3592 (TS11x0) and Oracle StorageTek T10000.

Technical: records, filemarks and EOD

A tape holds records (blocks) with filemarks between backup sets, and ends with an EOD marker (end-of-data). A drive normally does not read past that marker; data still physically on the tape after it needs a different approach.

The Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM) is a chip read contactlessly (RFID) that records, among other things, how the tape was used. If that chip fails, the drive sometimes rejects the tape, even though the tape itself is fine.

Older tape formats

Archives often still hold tapes in formats that have not been sold for a long time, such as:

DDS / DAT (4 mm), very common for small servers and workstations.
DLT and SDLT, long the business standard before LTO.
Exabyte 8 mm and Mammoth, and Sony AIT and SAIT.
QIC, Travan and VXA, on PCs and small servers.

Which formats we can read depends on the type and condition of the tape. State the type printed on the cartridge in your request; we check it before you send anything.

Backup software and formats

A tape rarely holds plain files. The backup software writes them in its own format, such as Veeam, Veritas Backup Exec and NetBackup, Arcserve, NTBackup or tar, or via LTFS.

Where possible we extract the files directly from that format, even if the original software or catalogue is no longer available. So mention which software and version were used, if you know.

All about recovering inaccessible backups →

Technical: backup formats

NTBackup and Backup Exec write in the Microsoft Tape Format (MTF); tar works with 512-byte records; LTFS uses two partitions on the tape, one for the index and one for the data (from LTO-5 onwards).

If the backup software's catalogue is missing, we rebuild it from the headers on the tape itself.

Common problems

The tape is broken, creased or stuck in the drive.
Water or fire damage, mould or contamination.
Wear on old tapes, where the magnetic layer comes off or turns sticky (sticky-shed).
The tape was overwritten or erased by accident, or its start was reformatted.
The memory chip in an LTO cartridge (Cartridge Memory, LTO-CM) has failed, so the drive rejects the tape.
The drive or backup software no longer exists, or the catalogue is lost.

What to do

Do

Keep the tapes dry, at room temperature and away from magnets.
Number the tapes of a backup set in the right order.
Note the backup software and version, and any encryption keys.
Send all tapes of a set.

Don't

Do not force a stuck tape out of the drive.
Do not keep inserting a damaged tape into a drive.
Do not write anything to the tapes, and do not format or label them in the drive.
Do not open cartridges or try to splice the tape yourself.

How we handle tapes

Inspection. We check the cartridge and the tape itself for damage, contamination and wear.
Repair where needed. Where possible, we first make damaged or contaminated tapes readable.
Reading. We read the whole tape, including beyond the point where the drive would normally stop (end-of-data, EOD).
Recovering files. We interpret the backup format and extract the files.
Delivery. You see the list of recovered files before you pay, and receive the data on a current medium.

Migrating old tapes

Your tapes still work but you no longer have a drive? We read them and move everything to a current medium, so your archive does not disappear together with the last working drive.

Tape data recovery