drive offline error; Robotic library error 1

[NanoG]

I have Backup Exec v8.60 on a windows 2000 server and an Overland Loader Express Tape Library. My backups have been working fine until last week......I received an alert that reads,
"Robotic Library destination element full error. The robotic library has reported a destination element full error condition. This is typically caused by trying to mount media into a drive that already contains media.The drive state has been set to offline.Please attend to this condition."
I have checked all the cables and connections and they are fine. I am really not sure what to do with this message!
Please help!

 

[SQLBill]

Have you opened up the library to see if there is a tape already in the slot/drive? It sounds like either there is already a tape there or Veritas thinks there is a tape there. If you look and there's no tape in the slot/drive, then run an inventory and see if that solves the issue.

-SQLBill

 

[NanoG]

As far as I know, there are 10 slots with nine tapes and one cleaning tape. The message on the front of the drive says Loader Idle.

 

[SQLBill]

Okay, but have you OPENED up the tape library (powered it down and opened the door) and visually checked it?

One of three things is happening:

Either you are trying to move a tape into a drive, in which case it's telling you that it thinks there is a tape already in the drive.

Or you are trying to move a tape to a slot in the library (either from a drive or putting a new tape in) and the slot already has a tape.

The only way to check is to physically open the library and look inside.

-SQLBill

 

[NanoG]

I can't open the door when it is powered down because it is locked. Am I missing something?

 

[SQLBill]

I don't know, I have a DELL 136T which has two doors. One is a 'mailbox' door and that is what I use to add/remove tapes from the library. Then there is the actual door to the tape library that lets me see/work inside of the library. That's the door that I am talking about. I can open mine when the power is off (I cannot open the mailbox door when the power is off). Maybe someone locked it with the key?

-SQLBill

 

[NanoG]

No, it doesn't lock with a key. I got it open from an option on the menu, while it is still on.

Now my next question is, out of my ten slots, 8 are tapes, and one is a cleaning tape and one is empty. Two of the media lables (slot 1 and slot 5) in the Backup Exec Device tab say <unknown media>, slot 10 is the cleaning media, and slot 2 is empty. In Device management, under robotic libraries is where it says offline.

I just came in monday morning and saw the alert message, the last backup was last Thursday night.

How do I get it to point to the correct slot when performing a backup? Is that where it is having a issue?
Thanks I really appreciate your help as I am really in the dark.....
NanoG

 

[SQLBill]

Stop and restart all of your Backup Exec services. This should bring the drive online.

Using BE, inventory all of your tapes. This will tell BE which tapes are where and what they are. All tapes should then be identified (no <unknown media> and the tape in slot 10 should be id'd as cleaning media).

Run a backup. Watch for error messages.

Possibilities:

1. BE was confused on what tapes were in the library and where they were. It may have thought one was still in the drive, when it was actually in it's slot.

2. BE is attempting to do more than one backup at a time.

3. The backup job needs more than one tape and for some reason it's not ejecting the tape, replacing it in it's slot, getting a new tape and putting that in the drive.

Also, how many drives do you have? Have you checked the job status? Have jobs been failing because of this error?

-SQLBill

 

[NanoG]

I have one drive. The jobs status keeps pausing because as soon as I try to run a backup, the alert will pop up and give me the &quot;robotic library&quot; message and then the drive will go offline immediately .

The backups are scheduled to run everynight at around midnight. I noticed that the job status was showing up as failed on Monday. That's when I tried to manually run a backup and it would pause and then cancel on its own.

 

[NanoG]

I stopped and restarted the services, and went to tools>device configuration wizard to move the stand alond drive to the robotic library. The drive immediately comes online. Then when I went to inventory the tapes in the slots, that is when I immediately get the message/alert about the robotic library and the drive goes offline

 

[mot98]

I too have started having this problem sporadically. Performing an Inventory on the Device,Slot causes the drive to go offline with robotic library error. The only way I could get the drive to function properly again was to reboot the server. It seems to be happening only when I am trying to perform a drive cleaning.

Not sure what the hell is causing it.. mot98


&quot;Every day I learn something new, and forget 10 things I learned long ago!&quot;

 

[NanoG]

The problem I have is that when I reboot the server, it stays online for a few minutes and then immediately goes offline. Do you have an Overland Loader Express Library too Mot98?

NanoG

 

[mot98]

No, I am using a Seagate Python Autoloader. For some reason I think it is a SCSI config problem, but I can't find what is causing it. mot98


&quot;Every day I learn something new, and forget 10 things I learned long ago!&quot;

 

[SQLBill]

Have you put new tapes in lately? I am having a problem with my robotic arm failing and found out via the vendor that when I bought new cleaning tapes, I bought the wrong kind. I have been using FUJIFILM Ultrium 1 LTO tapes (including cleaning tapes). When I needed a new cleaning tape, I bought a TDK Ultrium 1 LTO cleaning tape. Figured, no problem, it's a cleaning tape for Ultrium 1 LTO drives. Wrongo....Dell says I need to use FUJIFilm cleaning tape. Why, I don't know, they didn't say. But the TDK cleaning tapes caused my robotic arm to fail and the FUJIFilm tapes aren't causing the arm to fail.

-SQLBill

 

[ih8MSos]

i had to have storage tek come out. they replaced the robotic hand/eye unit and problem solved. hope you guys have a contract. the unit is expensive.