Mounting Tape XP

[bladebandit]

Hi,

We have a backup of one our servers on a Tape Drive which was stored using Legato Networker by our hosting company. On retrieving the tape drive, we realized we are going to need Legato Networker to retrieve the backup. So we installed it on Windows XP machine. Although quite baffling, we managed to setup the server and client (we think) , but upon trying to Mount the Tape Drive we receive the following error:

tape_rewind failed: drive status is The tape drive is ready to use.

And it doesn't mount. Any help or guidance will be appreciated.

 

[605]

Disable the "Removable Storage Manager" service!

Handle with care - this configuration is officially not supported (it should work however ;-)

 

[bladebandit]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply.

The Windows Service 'Removable Storage' is not currently active on my system. Is this the one you were referring to?

 

[605]

Yes it is. I do not think that any other application would use the device except another backup program.

Try to fix the problem and then do a backup with the native backup program first. Do not use NetWorker if the native tools do not run.

 

[HelpNow]

Hello,
I use Networker server on Windows XP all the time, usually to test upgrades and run a standalong DLT 7000 tapes for test backups and restore, no problems here.
In your situation, just re-create the tape device and remount, this should work.
Also make sure, you have correct drivers for the drive loaded in the device manager and that device timeout etc values are increased from Default.
Also make sure your instalation has not expired, look at eventvwr and Networker log files.

 

[bladebandit]

Does the safety switch have to be off when Mounting the drive? Or is this irrelevant? I've updated my drivers for my Sony SDX-500C Tape Drive to the latest one's on Sony Website. I've checked my Legato License and it is definately still active. Tried deleting the tape in Legato and re-adding it but still wont Mount.

error: tape_rewind failed: drive status is The tape drive is ready to use.

I feel my inexperience with Legato means I'm missing something obvious. (Unsure how to increase Time Out but will see if I can find it)

 

[bladebandit]

Ok - Just tried on another XP machine. Basically as I originally stated im just trying to retrieve a backup of one of our servers which was backed up using Legato.

Ok, so heres the steps :

1) Plugged in SCSI Controller, attached SCSI cable from controller to tape drive, gave tape drive power.

2) Started machine, tape Drive Detected, Controller Detected by Windows.

3) Installed Legato Networker, didnt change any options, used defaults on installation wizard.

4) Under Network Servers, my machine now appeared. So I selected it, went to connect server, the admin screen appeared

5) Registered the copy, entered Enabler Code, entered Auth Code, got a nice little tick next to registered.

6) Went to Devices, selected Create, left default settings, created \\.\Tape0 .

7) Right clicked it, went to Operations, selected Mount, got tape_rewind failed: drive status is The tape drive is ready to use.

Any help appreciated. Thank alot.

 

[605]

1. For test purposes you do not need to add a license - NW will work in evaluation mode for 30 days.

2. Which NW version do you run?
Since a while there is no default tape drive any more. On windows, this was a 4mm DAT which most likely is wrong.
But you did not say that you configured a new one.

Click on "Devices" and delete the existing one. Then create a new instance of the proper type.

3. You did not mention that you labeled the tape. This is mandatory before you can mount it.

4. Older versions had the effect that you could not label/mount the media just after creating the drive. In fact the drive came up with "busy" at that point in time.

 

[HelpNow]

Try command as below to make sure your Tape drive is registered in windows.
inquire from nsr\bin directory.
tapes form nsr\bin
Some times if you have more then one drive, confirm SCSI IDs and order, it is possible for networker to be confused in some situation where cabeling is done incorectly or devices are configured incorrectly to issue cmd to lable tape1 but scsi thinks you are talking to tape2 and fail, there is a mismatch in this case, i have seen that with windows and tape libraries, you may want to put all drives on one cable for simpliciy.
Time out values are there in device properties, enable custom-advance settings to see some of the adv features first.
There are addtional timeout values need to be adjusted for tape libraries, following cmd helps reset tape libraries,
nsrjb -HEvvv

 

[HelpNow]

Double check Legato's compatibilty Guide, Drive may not work on XP?
Make sure Adaptec or other SCSI driver is configured correctly, check adaptor BIOS, you may have to disable domain validation, drop scsi speed to 80 and other settings in some cases, also check XP settings including XP-SP2\Firewall, eveventvwr etc.

 

[605]

NW will work with any tape drive as long as it is supported by the OS or the manufacturer (install the driver!). NW does not have own device drivers for the tape drive.

The compatibility guide only states what types have been tested and approved.

Again, make sure that it will work with ntbackup first.