LTO generation 5 and newer tapes can be formatted with the Linear Tape File System (LTFS) available from third-party vendors. LTFS allows an LTO tape to be used like a hard disk. This software recognizes an LTFS-formatted tape and allows its use as a store or archive restore task target.

Certain precautions must be taken when using LTFS. See your LTFS vendor documentation for full details. In particular, you should never shut down the computer while an LTFS tape is mounted, and you should only eject the tape from the Windows Explorer view (right-click-Eject). The LTFS software disables the unload button on the tape drive, and this software disables the load/unload actions for LTFS tapes.