Backup cannot restore data..(erase disk before using)

[paul123456]

I am haveing a problem with back-up..all the logs are fine and they say that it has backed up successfully..but when i go to restore a tape it starts reading it...then it rewinds...then it errors out and says something about tape needs to be erased before using it??? i chked the media pools to make sure that the tape was reading...and it was...it mounted when it was reading and yes it was the right media behind used.. also i noticed the the back-up folder on the removable storage doesn't have the right icon..its more like the old dos base icon with the white box with the blue top..i was thinking of just reinstalling backup..can this be done?? like in xp home you have to install backup...can u do that with server?? or has anyone seen this problem before

Thanks, PAUL

 

[Stevehewitt]

I assume that you have changed media?

 

[paul123456]

change the media? you mean for the days? i have it like this

monday1
tuesday1
wensday1
thurday1
friday1
friday2
friday3
friday4


each tape is labeled and has the appropriate lable name..



Thanks, PAUL

 

[Stevehewitt]

To be honest, Windows 2000 Backup is really, really simple and I have found it to be very reliable. I think its more likely to be the tape or the drive than mis-configuration. I would try to get some eval software from Vertias or somebody else and try that to find out what the problem is. You may also want to check out Microsoft Knowledge Base, but its really quite unheard of for the backup software to cack up as its actually a striped version of Veritas Backup Exec.

Give some eval or free (GNU) software a go and see what that reports.

Good Luck, and post back to this thread when you have tried it. (I've put notification on it)


Steve.

 

[paul123456]

Would you happend to know if i can reinstall backup for server?..the only reason i ask and want to try is because the icons and the backup folder icon are strange looking...not like normal..

Thanks, PAUL

 

[Stevehewitt]

Not to my knowledge. I know its not in the Uninstall List in the Windows Setup. I pretty much doubt it. You may want to copy the backup exe from another server and see if that helps.

If that doesn't help try a repair option from the Win2k Server CD (boot from it).

Good Luck

 

[GlenJohnson]

You didn't mention what you're using to backup. Is it the Windows default or a third party?

Glen A. Johnson
Johnson Computer Consulting
MCP W2K
glen@johnsoncomputers.us

http://www.johnsoncomputers.us

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884
"Watson, the game is afoot!"

 

[paul123456]

default for 2k server.

Thanks, PAUL

 

[PScottC]

Try cleaning your tape drive(use a new cleaning tape, and clean it twice). Failure to read a tape you've successfully backed up to is usually a sign that the heads are dirty. If the problem continues, verify that the drive is working properly. I've had this problem before.

Also... when you previously ran backups, did you use the verify functionality?

PSC

 

[paul123456]

I worked on it a little more today..heres what i've found out. on the drive i have there are known issues with using the verify option..but i chked and verify was not behing used. I erased all media entries for backup. I cancelled all schedules. I uninstalled the backup drive and reisntalled. i cataloged three tapes with new media names. then tried backing up 1 file (35 MB). after backup was complete i removed the tape checked the drive and saw that was offline. i tried a restore and when i hit the expand button on the media name it asked for the tape. I put the tape in and pressed ok..it started reading...then said..rewinding..then gave the same error msg...something about media needs to be erased before it can be used. i have 8 tapes..all about 2 months old. i tried the above with three different tapes none working. I decided on returning the tape drive and getting it replaced. Ill post soon on an update but if anyone has seen this plz let us know..also i have not cleaned the tapes..its too late to try cause i sent the tape drive back..

Thanks, PAUL

 

[GlenJohnson]

Good luck. Been there, done that.


Glen A. Johnson
Johnson Computer Consulting
MCP W2K
glen@johnsoncomputers.us

http://www.johnsoncomputers.us

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884
"Watson, the game is afoot!"

 

[jutetrea]

Is anyone still following this thread? I'm having the same trouble. Drive and tapes were working fine as of about 6 mo ago. Backed up fine, restored fine, yadda yadda, I was doing a restore test every 3 months or so to check. Left it for about 6 months (they've never had to restore anything yet..) and come back to check, no dice. Everytime you try to restore something it loads, rewinds, and comes up with "media must be erased before continuing". Now every tape I attempt to restore comes up with the same message, even the older full backups.
In the meantime we've increased drive space, upgraded the server from NT4-SBS2k, and grown from about 10 employees to about 20ish with the corresponding data increase.

For some reason I can't find a cleaning tape, so I'll probably have to order one to check that out. The tape drive is an older colorado 20gb, and we're using win2k backup on the server.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm figuring that I'll just try to get a new tape drive, but I wanted to check the "clean" idea first.

random note: generally we were doing single tape backups, then recently we had to move to multi-tape backups. According to microsofts knowleadge base this error comes from a bad tape in a set... Which is all fine and dandy, but it now even happens with a single tape, backing up a 135mb file and attempting to restore.

Thanks for any possible help

JT

 

[paul123456]

Hey JT usaully im good about posting updates on my posts..but i guess this one slip past me. It turned out that the tape drive i was using wasn't supported by windows 2000 server. It had "known issues" they called it..but it does say windows 2000 supported...go figure. So what i did to fix my problem was to simply replace the tape drive...and wah lahh...backup work perfectly. Your problem seems to be related to your heads on your tape drive not behing cleaned...you are supposed to clean the tape drive every week..yes..evey week. so i would get a tape cleaner and run it through about 5 times.. that should fix it but if it doesn't try finding an updated driver..and that doesn't fix it try finding a diagnostics utility for your tape drive..if that fails then replace the tape drive. A lot of people backup...but once in awhile it is good as u no now to test a restore..

Good luck..let us know

Thanks, PAUL

 

[jutetrea]

Hey paul,

thanks for the update. For some ungodly reason I don't think they ever bought a cleaning tape, so they'll probably have to order it. Every week eh? I'm right on that

I'll let you know if anything fun happens.

thanks again,
jt

 

[berferd67]

HI JT,

I've just had exactly the same problem you describe with a Seagate Travan. The backup seems fine but won't restore and gives the message about the tape needs to be erased. After much mucking around I found the following two Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles. 328742 and 817765. I got the fix from Microsoft and it cured the problem. The HotFix is described in 817765.

Hope this helps,

Paul Guest
Academy Solutions Ltd
Oxford, UK

http://www.acadsol.co.uk