BE 10 media write protected

[rosscopt]

This is driving me nuts!!

I have just updated my BE server to 10.1 and have also installed an Overland ARCvault tape library.

The library seems to be working fine, I can inventory it, scan the slots etc, no problem. The trouble is that when I try to run a backup, erase a tape, label a tape etc, it tells me tha the media is write protected.

Now, the tapes are not physically write protected. I have even created a new media set with infinite append and 0 hour overwrite. The tapes show Overwritable and Infinite - Allow append, yet it wont let me write to them.

If I cant get this sorted soon, I'm going to have to try and go back to the LTO1 drive that I'm trying to replace. But seeing as this is a live server, that's a hassle.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, before I lose the plot completely and start to cry!

 

[steveot]

Move all the media to scratch in the media tab and try the backup

 

[rosscopt]

Hi,

have tried that. Same result.

It's LTO1 tapes that I'm using in the autoloader, which has an LTO3 drive. Overland assure me that it's not a problem though.

 

[rosscopt]

I was mis-informed, LTO1 media are read only on LTO3 drives.


Will need to buy more media.

 

[Chris1980]

Wow didn't know that about LTO1 in an LTO3 device, thought it was all supposed to be fully backwards compatible.

 

[rosscopt]

So did I!!

Looks like I'll just have to blow another grand on new LTO3 media!

 

[rosscopt]

Still no joy!

I bought a load of LTO3 tapes thinking that would be it, but no.

Now what happens is that I can inventory/scan the library no problem. If I try a backup though, it loads the tape but just doesn't write to it. The status stays at "Loading Media" and it eventually fails.

Anybody got any clues?

 

[steveot]

Try this goto tools-options-media management and change the overwrite protection to none. Remove the check box to prompt before overwriting imported media.
Insert a new tape and inventory the drive. AFter the inventory the tape should show up and <blank media>.

Right click on the drive and quick erase the tape.

THen try a backup.

If if after the inventory or quick erase the drive show -None- then there is a hardware issue. This would put backup exec in a loading status because it cant detect a tape.

 

[rosscopt]

Hi Steve,

overwrite protection was already set to none.

When I start a backup, or try to erase a tape which is in a slot, it loads it fine and BackupExec shows it is in the drive. It just does nothing thereafter and eventually fails.

When I put new tapes in, Backup Exec sees them OK and puts them in as scratch tapes, which is as it should.

It's just when it tries to do anything physically to the tape that it doesn't seem to like.

 

[steveot]

Sound like a hardware problem. Is the tape drive connected to s RAID controller or standalone SCSI controller?

Have you dated to latest Microsoft Storeport drivers?

Almost sound like the write head is bad in drive and the read head is good.

 

[rosscopt]

Thanks Steve,

does indeed look like it's a drive error. Power cycled the thing and it displayed a drive initialization error.

Getting a replacement sent out.