Patent ID: 8537484

Claim:
A method for certifying data on tape cartridges, the method comprising: providing a library with: a first tape cartridge possessing a medium auxiliary memory device; a medium auxiliary memory device reader; a medium auxiliary memory device writer; a first tape drive and a second tape drive; a shelf system; and a system adapted to access a memory device containing a media lifecycle management data base; loading said first tape cartridge in said first tape drive; writing new data on said first tape cartridge after said loading step; recording a first access occurrence corresponding to approximately when said writing step was performed; unloading said first tape cartridge from said first tape drive; disposing said first tape cartridge in said shelf system after said unloading step; loading said first tape cartridge in one of said first or said second tape drives after a predetermined time has elapsed from said first access occurrence; reading a second portion of said new data residing on said first tape cartridge, said second portion sequentially follows a first portion; assessing said second portion to determine data integrity, said first portion is not assessed for said data integrity; and initiating a data recovery sequence if said data integrity fails to meet an acceptable level of an expected data structure.