UK LTO tape specialists since 1994
LTO-1 media is discontinued

LTO-1 cartridges have not been made for many years. If you still have LTO-1 tapes to read, call 01256 331614 and we will help you find a way to recover the data.

The first LTO Ultrium generation

LTO-1 shipped in 2000. It was developed by the founding members of the LTO consortium, HP, IBM and Seagate, as an open alternative to proprietary formats such as Quantum’s DLT. The open licensing model meant several companies could make compatible drives and media, and that model has kept LTO the dominant tape format ever since. Read more in the history of tape storage.

LTO-1 specifications

Native capacity100 GB
Compressed (2:1)200 GB
Native transfer rate20 MB/s
Compressed transfer rate40 MB/s
MediaMetal Particle
Data tracks384
Tape length / thickness609 m / 8.9 µm
Cartridge (W × L × H)102 × 105.4 × 21.5 mm

Reading LTO-1 tapes today

  • LTO-1 and LTO-2 drives read and write LTO-1.
  • LTO-3 drives read LTO-1 but cannot write to it.
  • LTO-4 and newer drives cannot read LTO-1.

Because only LTO-1, LTO-2 and LTO-3 drives can read these cartridges, recovering LTO-1 data now usually needs a specialist. If the tapes hold anything you are legally required to keep, arrange a migration to current LTO media. A single LTO-10 cartridge holds the contents of 300 LTO-1 tapes.

Free, no-obligation advice

Planning a tape purchase or upgrade?

Tell us your data volumes, retention needs and existing hardware. We will recommend the right generation, media and hardware — and quote it the same working day.