Patent ID: 8477446

Claim:
A method for writing data to a tape, comprising: writing data from a dataset onto the tape by simultaneously writing a plurality of data segments N onto the tape in N data tracks; determining if one or more of the plurality of data segments N written to the tape needs to be rewritten; accumulating each of the plurality of data segments for a rewrite when a data segment needs to be rewritten; when N data segments have been accumulated, simultaneously rewriting the N data segments to the tape and then deleting the rewritten data segments from the accumulated list, wherein each data segment in the N data segments rewritten to the tape has a first field in a header that designates itself and a second field in the header that designates a second re-written data segment; when the end of the dataset is reached, writing any remaining accumulated data segments to the tape, wherein each data segment rewritten to the tape has a first field in a header that designates itself and a second field in the header that designates a second rewritten data segment.