Newbie...Message: Please insert overwritable Media... What gives?

[BigHeadDawg]

Hi,
I am brand new with Veritas software and am running Veritas Backup Exec 9.1 for Windows 2003 Standard Ed. I have set up my job as a full system backup onto one tape. This is a single tape backup unit and I am backing up a file server. I input a new tape, set it to back up starting at midnight and I come in the next day to find nothing has backed up, the tape is ejected and the messages I am getting are as follows:

Please insert overwritable media into the drive.

Overwritable media includes scratch, blank, and recyclable media. Please note that depending on the current Media Overwrite Protection setting, imported and allocated media may be overwritable as well. Consult the online help for more information on overwritable media.

My disk is new and therefore blank and I haven't been able to figure out how to get this backup done. Any help out here on this?

Regards
BigHead.

 

[Davetoo]

Give your media a label.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[SQLBill]

Start with the tape out of the device.
Open Backup Exec and find the Device tab.
Right click on the device and select IMPORT.
You will get a pop-up window telling you to insert a tape.
Insert the tape into the device.
Click OK.
Click on the device in Device tab to see if it shows the tape.
Right click on the device, select Label Media.

Now it should recognize the tape. (You might not have to label the media as Importing it is usually the solution).

-SQLBill

 

[Davetoo]

I always just label the media and have never had a problem.

In fact, just got done bringing in three new tapes this morning.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[BigHeadDawg]

Thanks for the response guys. I will try that today and let you know how it goes.

BigHead.

 

[aacinit]

SQLBill

I am having the same problem.
I am using Backup Exec 9.0.
I did not see "IMPORT" when I right clicked on DEVICE.
If I tell it to Run Now the backup job will run.
But if I schedule a job it will start and then the tape will pop out. Then it will say insert an overwritable media. The media in the drive is write protected.
I am using a new DLT tape.

 

[BigHeadDawg]

I also have no "IMPORT" choice under Device and I am getting the exact same results as altaanc. I am sure I haven't set something up correctly, however I haven't been able to troubleshoot it completely yet.

I tried Lander215's suggestion of Labeling it and then ran the job. It said it was running however my tape was ejected at that time (I guess running the job doesn't necessarily mean recording to tape).

I also get the message pop up telling me that my tape is written to and is overright protected and can't be used (can't remember exact message but that is the bulk of it). My tape doesn't even stay in the drive long enough for me to see if there is anything on it(I'm not sure what is written on it since I haven't been able to run a succesfull backup yet).

Still working on it.

 

[Davetoo]

Just a thought, but make sure the tape doesn't have the write protect enabled (physically on the backup tape).

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[DisasterGirl]

I have an autoloader. when i use new tapes, I have to inventory, before it is recognized as blank media. is the tape showing as blank media?

 

[BigHeadDawg]

ya, the tape is physically set to write to. No the tape doesn't get a chance to show anything. I push the tape in, it takes about 2 to 3 minutes to do it's loading thing then pops out and the message appears saying the above message about please insert overwriteable media into the drive.

 

[SQLBill]

Have you tried cleaning the drive? Just pop in your cleaning tape.

-SQLBill

 

[aacinit]

Yeah, I have tried cleaning it many times.
Same thing. It starts backing up after backing up a couple of directories the tape pops out and says insert overwritable media. It does it eventhough you insert a brand new tape out of the box.

 

[SQLBill]

The last time I used a single tape device was a while ago (I use autoloaders now). But on either the Device tab or the Media tab, you should be able to right click on the actual device and find IMPORT. I really think that's the issue. You need to import the tape (select import, insert the tape, click ok) rather than just inserting the tape. I recall that I had this same problem with my single tape device until I found and used the import command.

-SQLBill

 

[Madcowz]

I had this same issue yesterday, a tape failed, I replaced it and I couldn't overwrite it. It was picking up the Overwrite protection rules from the Media Set. Just moved it to scratch and I could use it again.

From another Newbie

/Mad

 

[BigHeadDawg]

Thanks for your input Mad.

Just wanted to let the people know out here that I managed to get everything working properly. I didn't have to import the tape (there is not import function) and labeling it didn't seem to fix the problem either. What I ended up doing was erasing my media sets, rescheduling them, and erasing my tapes (even though they were blank) and I was able to finally get a successful backup. I think what may have happened is that in the process of trying to get a successful backup done, something was recorded to the tape (I would think some small files) and preventing it from being over written until the scheduled time had elapsed for overwriting.

I hope this helps onyone else experiencing similar problems.

Thanks to everyone out here who helped me out.

BigHeadDawg

 

[ChefTech]

Hi i am having this error with "PLEASE INSERT OVERWRITABLE MEDIA INTO THE ROBOTIC LIBRARY USING THE IMPORT COMMAND". I am using a Dell PowerVault 122T LTO Autoloader. What can I do?

Thanks.

 

[SQLBill]

Follow the directions.

How did you put your tapes in? Manually or via IMPORT?

You must import the tapes for them to work. With the tapes out of the library, go to Device tab, expand until you see the Slots. Click on that so the slots appear in the right pane. Right click on the slot you want to put a tape in. Select IMPORT. When you get the prompt, put the tape in the library's mailbox. It will move the tape to that slot. Right click on the tape and INVENTORY it.

Repeat that for however many tapes you have.

-BTW, you should have started a new thread. It's considered poor manners to use someone else's thread for your questions.

-SQLBill

Posting advice: FAQ481-4875

 

[ChefTech]

My Autoloader "Dell PV 122T" does not support software import\export commands.

 

[SQLBill]

Are you using DELL or VERITAS to control the backup jobs? Which driver are you using? You should be using Veritas drivers and allowing Veritas to control the library/autoloader.

-SQLBill

 

[ChefTech]

Sorry Dude I didn't know the message board procedures