data error (cyclic redundancy check)

[fuunstatic]

background to this problem

new server and tape drive everything ok for the last 4 weeks, then all of a sudden all backups fail with the following message

"data error (cyclic redundancy check)" error message and all backup fails

have consulted the Veritas site and tried all the recommended fixes including cleaning the heads, using new tapes. Have swapped out the tape drive as well

unable to do a test backup using win2000 backup to see if it is software or hardware and the remote storage MMC shows the tape drive as offline yet veritas backup software can see it ok

any thing else that can be tried or hints as to what might be the cause

"Work to live, don't live to work"

"The problem with troubleshooting is that sometimes it shoots back"

 

[rmiley]

Very frustrating problem. I've had the same scenario as you and had to contact Veritas phone support. They wanted to point the finger at our hardware and/or media. I explained to them that we had brand new hardware and were using brand new tapes.

Finally, they asked me to lower the SCSI transfer rate and that seemed to help a little. There explanataion is that I was trying to transfer too much data across too fast. For what it's worth, I lowerd my transfer rate from 80 to 40 and it seemed to help. I still get CRC errors, but less frequently. Maybe once every two or three weeks as opposed to daily.

This change did not make my backup times any longer. You might want to try it and see if it helps in your situation.

 

[fuunstatic]

thanks for the tip. incidently as the system now as a new tape drive unit, the old one shows up as offline. on a manual backup i have purposely selected the one online instead of leaving it to the default of "all drives" and so far the manual backup is working fine so far

"Work to live, don't live to work"

"The problem with troubleshooting is that sometimes it shoots back"

 

[japerezr]

I have the same error message. Only it happens when i try to label the tapes, then it shows "bad media".
It was working fine, then one day I loaded a set of tapes and tried to label them. It took about 30 minutes to come up with "data error(cyclic redundancy check)". I have a Compaq DLT Library 35-70. I've tried cleaning the drives by running the clean from the front panel. I've ran the clean 4 times in a row to be safe, and still I get the error. What's next?

 

[beastie]

japerezr:

I had an identicle issue with a side client of mine a couple months ago with a DELL/Quantum 7 tape autoloader. Same damn thing, I was really at a painful loss untill the drive started making strange noises on yet another troubleshooting attempt. It was still under warrantee and I had the drive repaired. It has been working flawlessly since. I am pretty sure you have a deffective drive. Sorry man.

Now as for immacola's original issue...I occasionally have this issue happen as well at my full time job (different site). I have a DLT1 and a DAT24x7 autoloader hanging off the same SCSI device. Prior to adding the autoloader, I only had the DLT1 drive on there and ran it flawlessly (less other quirky issues) but never any CRC data errors. I put that other drive on there and it work fine for a while, then I get one. I generally reset the server and all is fine for another 6-8 weeks (maybe more). For what it is worth, I suspect the SCSI bus.

 

[fuunstatic]

thanks for the input everyone, at least I am not the only one having problems like this

incidently the manual backup worked fine with no errors but last night's backup failed with the same crc error message (new drive). I have advised the local admin person to delete the scheduled backup jobs and create a new one.


"Work to live, don't live to work"

"The problem with troubleshooting is that sometimes it shoots back"

 

[NetWit]

I have this problem with Veritas about every 10 to 12 weeks. I don't think the problem is with the tapes. You might renaming the tapes (like Tues02, etc) in the devices tab or deleting the old backup job and starting a new one. It seems almost like making any change makes the program happy. The same goes for OFO errors (change the max static volume size or change to default settings and then back to what you had).

The program is very flaky. I have it on 5 servers and all act the same from time to time. I have yet to find a bad tape after two years.

 

[japerezr]

Hi,
I finally called Compaq(HP) and had the tape drive replaced. Backups are running fine now, thanks for your inputs.

 

[Mikey12188]

I've had a simular problem with my SDLT drive. I've found a weekly cleaning of the drive prevents the error from occurring. If I forget to clean it, I get the error.