You need to reclaim the tapes.

Examine the value of the "Reclamation Threshold" of the on-site storage
pool associated with these files.  You may want to set a lower value.
BTW, here's one of my favorite ADSM scripts:

 /*  ------------------------------------------*/
 /*  Script Name:  TOP_RECLAIM                 */
 /*  Description: Display the volumes in a     */
 /*    specified pool eligible for reclamation */
 /*    at a specified threshold.               */
 /*  Parameter 1: storage pool name            */
 /*  Parameter 2: reclamation threshold        */
 /*  Example:  run top_reclaim int_3570 80     */
 /*  ------------------------------------------*/
 select volume_name,pct_reclaim,est_capacity_mb,pct_utilized -

    from volumes -
    where stgpool_name=upper('$1') -
    and pct_reclaim >= $2 -
    order by pct_reclaim

Also, it's possible that the volumes may be PENDING.  Examine the
"Delay Period for Volume Reuse", whose units are days.  It's possible
that patience is all that's needed.

Rich

At 02:05 PM 9/16/99 +0100, you wrote:
>We have lots of tapes in our on-site tape pool with Exchange agent data on
>them. Doing a Q CONT shows that the date these were written was some time
>during August.
>
>Yesterday afternoon we changed the Backup Copy Group that is used for the
>Exchange backups from 14 versions to 4 versions. ("Retain extra version" is
>30 and "retain only version" is 60 days).
>We changed the final line (excdsmc /adsmautodelete:* /ifolder:4) in the
>script that is run on the Exchange Server to delete all but 4 versions.
>The excdsm.log shows "22 backup objects of 32 examined were deleted".
>
>Having done this, we expected the expire inventory processing this morning
>to release these tapes - but it hasn't!. What else do we need to do to
>expire these old tapes and allow them to be re-used??
>
>Yesterday, from the GUI on the Exchange server you could see up to 14
>versions that could be used to restore from. Today, the GUI only shows a
>choice of 5 versions - so something has changed! But ADSM doesn't seem to
>have released the tapes.....
>
>Any thing else we need to do??
>
>Cheers, Chris
>
>

Richard C. Dempsey                 email: dempsey AT kodak DOT com
Public Online Services             pager: 716-975-3539
11th Floor, Bldg 83, RL            phone: 716-477-3457
Eastman Kodak Company              fax:   716-722-3885
Rochester, NY 14650-2203