GetTapeParameters function (winbase.h)

Article
10/13/2021

The GetTapeParameters function retrieves information that describes the tape or the tape drive.

Syntax

DWORD GetTapeParameters(
  [in]  HANDLE  hDevice,
  [in]  DWORD   dwOperation,
  [out] LPDWORD lpdwSize,
  [out] LPVOID  lpTapeInformation
);

Parameters

[in] hDevice

Handle to the device about which information is sought. This handle is created by using the CreateFile function.

[in] dwOperation

Type of information requested. This parameter must be one of the following values.

Value	Meaning
GET_TAPE_DRIVE_INFORMATION 1	Retrieves information about the tape device.
GET_TAPE_MEDIA_INFORMATION 0	Retrieves information about the tape in the tape device.

[out] lpdwSize

Pointer to a variable that receives the size, in bytes, of the buffer specified by the lpTapeInformation parameter. If the buffer is too small, this parameter receives the required size.

[out] lpTapeInformation

Pointer to a structure that contains the requested information. If the dwOperation parameter is GET_TAPE_MEDIA_INFORMATION, lpTapeInformation points to a TAPE_GET_MEDIA_PARAMETERS structure.

If dwOperation is GET_TAPE_DRIVE_INFORMATION, lpTapeInformation points to a TAPE_GET_DRIVE_PARAMETERS structure.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is NO_ERROR.

If the function fails, it can return one of the following error codes.

Error code	Description
ERROR_BEGINNING_OF_MEDIA 1102L	An attempt to access data before the beginning-of-medium marker failed.
ERROR_BUS_RESET 1111L	A reset condition was detected on the bus.
ERROR_DEVICE_NOT_PARTITIONED 1107L	The partition information could not be found when a tape was being loaded.
ERROR_END_OF_MEDIA 1100L	The end-of-tape marker was reached during an operation.
ERROR_FILEMARK_DETECTED 1101L	A filemark was reached during an operation.
ERROR_INVALID_BLOCK_LENGTH 1106L	The block size is incorrect on a new tape in a multivolume partition.
ERROR_MEDIA_CHANGED 1110L	The tape that was in the drive has been replaced or removed.
ERROR_NO_DATA_DETECTED 1104L	The end-of-data marker was reached during an operation.
ERROR_NO_MEDIA_IN_DRIVE 1112L	There is no media in the drive.
ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED 50L	The tape driver does not support a requested function.
ERROR_PARTITION_FAILURE 1105L	The tape could not be partitioned.
ERROR_SETMARK_DETECTED 1103L	A setmark was reached during an operation.
ERROR_UNABLE_TO_LOCK_MEDIA 1108L	An attempt to lock the ejection mechanism failed.
ERROR_UNABLE_TO_UNLOAD_MEDIA 1109L	An attempt to unload the tape failed.
ERROR_WRITE_PROTECT 19L	The media is write protected.

Remarks

The block size range values (maximum and minimum) returned by the GetTapeParameters function called with the dwOperation parameter set to the GET_TAPE_DRIVE_INFORMATION value will indicate system limits, not drive limits. However, it is the tape drive device and the media present in the drive that determine the true block size limits. Thus, an application may not be able to set all the block sizes mentioned in the range obtained by specifying GET_TAPE_DRIVE_INFORMATION in dwOperation.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows XP [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows Server 2003 [desktop apps only]
Target Platform	Windows
Header	winbase.h (include Windows.h)
Library	Kernel32.lib
DLL	Kernel32.dll