Unreadable Media 1

[JohnnyNeckU]

Hi people,

Here's my problem:

I'm using W2K server with ArcServe 2000. My backups are working fine and I can do a restore without any problems. But the fact is that I can't use a new Tape. If I put a new Tape I got "Unreadable Media" status and 2 erros message in the activity log :

- E6914 The tape is damaged or the drive is faulty

- E6096 Media error [ABSL: 2060 CMD: 8h TapeName: RID: 0 Barcode: ]

I'd disable the tape device in the device manager like I'd read before but no success...

Any Ideas?

Thanks

 

[TudorP]

What backup device are u using?
TP

 

[mrtoledo]

My bet he is using a Compaq SDLT drive.

 

[lzcwsq]

hi

this is what we have tried

we get this when our client purchases a cheap media un formated

we clean the device with cleaning tape (should be done every 50-100hrs of use) then format or erase the tape, this usually does the formating automatically

worked for us, hope it works for you

 

[wormman]

I recommend disabling the drivers for the tape drive and library if applicable through device manager. ArcServe has built in drivers that communicate with all types of hardware. This worked for us when we experienced this type of problems. Let ArcServe take total control of your tape devices.

 

[GeordieJohn]

Hi I too am using a Compaq SDLT tape library, with branded Compaq Media. Arcserve2000 is the backup software in use, still seem to be getting Unreadable Media errors, I am going to try wormman`s answer and disable the Compaq drivers, and see if Arcserve can handle it on its own.

Sounds odd but sometimes the only answer is to switch the tape library off completely for an hour, then reboot it and then reboot the server. Seems to bring it all back together.

 

[mrtoledo]

We have the same config and have the Compaq drivers disabled for weeks. Same problem.

What firmware levels are you guys at. Our problems seemed to get worse as we upgraded the firmware.

 

[TheLad]

Are you using the green SDLT tapes? Using brown (DLT III), white (DLT IIIxt) or black (DLT IV) DLT tapes in an SDLT drive will not work. You can only read existing data from them, you cannot write onto them.



-----------------------------------------------------
"It's true, its damn true!"
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[mrtoledo]

Yes we are using the proper media. We have the problems with both the Compaq and the Quantum Media.

 

[TudorP]

Everyone -
AS is using SCSI / Fibre card mini port drivers to communicate with the backup devices. Any other software that attempts to use / monitor the SCSI bus will cause conflicts. These applications can be Windows RSM (Removable Storage Manager) - which I recommend disabling - AND more importantly - Compaq SmartStart agents (or whatever else they call them nowadays). ANYTHING that claims to manage / monitor you backup devices / storage space may cause these kind of issues.
Q1: are you guys also seeing E6300 - NT SCSI port errors?
Q2: Can anyone post the tape log when AS is trying to read a tape and receives Unreadable Media?
cheers
TP

 

[mrtoledo]

Here is a tapeserver log ( in detail mode)

[2536] SENSE ABSL:2050 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 16 00 00 00 00 3a
[2536] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 00 00 00 00 00 80 02 5d 00 00 1c 37 00 00 00 00
[2536] SENSE ABSL:2050 Not Ready [02]
[2536] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 Medium Not Present [3a, 00]
[2536] LDN:2 LogSense called for TapeAlert
[2536] 06/02 15:23:35 ABSL:2050 [LOG SENSE ] 4d 00 2e 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2060 [TEST UNIT READY ] 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] LDN:3 LogSense called for TapeAlert
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2060 [LOG SENSE ] 4d 00 2e 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2040 [TEST UNIT READY ] 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2040 [REQUEST SENSE ] 03 00 00 00 40 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] <TEST UNIT READY >, Sense Data as Follows:
[2536] SENSE ABSL:2040 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 16 00 00 00 00 3a
[2536] EX SENSE ABSL:2040 00 00 00 00 00 80 04 57 00 00 2a c9 00 00 00 00
[2536] SENSE ABSL:2040 Not Ready [02]
[2536] EX SENSE ABSL:2040 Medium Not Present [3a, 00]
[2536] LDN:1 LogSense called for TapeAlert
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2040 [LOG SENSE ] 4d 00 2e 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2050 [TEST UNIT READY ] 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2050 [REQUEST SENSE ] 03 00 00 00 40 00 00 01 44 00
[2536] <TEST UNIT READY >, Sense Data as Follows:
[2536] SENSE ABSL:2050 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 16 00 00 00 00 3a
[2536] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 00 00 00 00 00 80 02 5d 00 00 1c 37 00 00 00 00
[2536] SENSE ABSL:2050 Not Ready [02]
[2536] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 Medium Not Present [3a, 00]
[2536] LDN:2 LogSense called for TapeAlert
[2536] 06/02 15:24:35 ABSL:2050 [LOG SENSE ] 4d 00 2e 00 00 00 00 01 44 00

 

[TudorP]

MRTOLEDO -
here is how you read this log:
2050, 2060 and 2040 are your tape drives
AS is sending TEST UNIT READY commands to monitor the drives.
2050 and 2040 are empty at this point as illustrated by Not Ready (02)/ Medium not present (3a 00).
2060 is loaded, but from the tidbit of log here is does not seem that is doing anything at this point.
Log Sense is a command that polls the drives if they have a condition to report (head dirty, hardware error etc). All 3 drives report OK.
In conclucion, this log shows nothing wrong. Either the error has not occured, or its already passed. You want to find &quot;NT SCSI PORT ERROR&quot; in the tape log and then copy a section of about 2-3 minutes before that.
cheers
TP

 

[mrtoledo]

Here are some more excerpts of the log

[2072] LDN:3 Moving Tape from Slot:21 to Changer Drive LDN:2
[2072] 06/02 14:56:39 ABSL:2050 [LOAD TAPE ] 1b 00 00 00 01 00 00 01 44 00
[2072] 06/02 14:56:39 ABSL:2050 [REQUEST SENSE ] 03 00 00 00 40 00 00 01 44 00
[2072] <LOAD >, Sense Data as Follows:
[2072] SENSE ABSL:2050 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 16 00 00 00 00 3a
[2072] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 00 00 00 00 00 80 02 5d 00 00 1c 37 00 00 00 00
[2072] SENSE ABSL:2050 Not Ready [02]
[2072] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 Medium Not Present [3a, 00]
[2072] 06/02 14:56:39 ABSL:2050 [TEST UNIT READY ] 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2072] 06/02 14:56:39 ABSL:2050 [REQUEST SENSE ] 03 00 00 00 40 00 00 01 44 00
[2072] <TEST UNIT READY >, Sense Data as Follows:
[2072] SENSE ABSL:2050 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 16 00 00 00 00 3a
[2072] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 00 00 00 00 00 80 02 5d 00 00 1c 37 00 00 00 00
[2072] SENSE ABSL:2050 Not Ready [02]
[2072] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 Medium Not Present [3a, 00]
[2072] LDN:3 Moving tape from Element 53 to Element 481


[2072] LDN:2 Waiting for device to become ready while inserting media from slot:21..
[2072] 06/02 15:08:57 ABSL:2050 [TEST UNIT READY ] 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 44 00
[2072] 06/02 15:08:57 ABSL:2050 [REQUEST SENSE ] 03 00 00 00 40 00 00 01 44 00
[2072] <TEST UNIT READY >, Sense Data as Follows:
[2072] SENSE ABSL:2050 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 16 00 00 00 00 52
[2072] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 00 00 00 00 00 80 02 5d 00 00 1c 37 00 00 00 00
[2072] SENSE ABSL:2050 Not Ready [02]
[2072] EX SENSE ABSL:2050 Cartridge Fault [52, 00]
[2072] LDN:2 Problem inserting tape into tape drive from Slot:21
[2072] DeviceNo:2, SlotNo:21, SenseCode:2, ASC:82, ASCQ:0

 

[TudorP]

The good news is that it seems that you are properly communicating with your device. The bad news is that indeed you seem to have some compatibility / hardware issues. The clue is in that last T.U.R. - 02/52/00. The next step is to look into the SCSI manual of your library (some vendors have it downloadable in pdf format) and figure out what this error means, what are the possible causes and the possible solutions to it. I looked in the threads above and I have not seen a description of your environment. What I need to know is the Library manufacturer and the Library model as well as the Drive manufacturer and Drive model. On your side, it is worth while to check your FW level on the library/drives against the CA Certified Device List. If they have a NEWER FW that is qualified, you should upgrade to it. If your device / fw is not there, or is newer than the ones posted dont fret - you can still get it working.
cheers
TP

 

[mrtoledo]

Our library is a Compaq MSL5026 tape library. The drives are the Compaq 110/220 SDLT Drives. Our current firmware is newer than the Arcserve Device Compatibility List, however we had these problems with the older firmware too.

 

[geniph]

I'm having the same problem on a Compaq SDLT that was donated to us. Free hardware sometimes isn't worth the money you pay for it! But if anyone ever figures out a fix for this, I'd sure like to see it too. My symptoms are exactly the same as he's logged above - the media is unrecognizable, and shows as write-protected, no matter what type of media I use. The media works fine in other types of drives.

 

[TudorP]

You can get the SCSI manual for the SDLT220/230 from here:

http://www.quantum.com/downloads/sdlt320_220_scsi_interface_guide.pdf

--> section 4.24.

According to the manual - 02/52/00 means Cartridge Error, Calibration Failure. You should open a ticket with Compaq for this error.
In terms of AS - I would suggest you OFFLINE drive address 2050 during DEVICE CONFIGURATION (towards the end it has a button that allows you to disable drives through the sofware). Then try to initialize the library again. AS will read / write using only the other drive - i.e. 2060. If that drive is good, all operations should be successfull. That should also help isolate the problem to be a hardware issue...
HTH - cheers
TP

Table 4-99. Supported ASC / ASCQ (Hex) for REQUEST SENSE Command
Sense Key ASC ASCQ Description
02h NOT READY
04 00 Unit Not Ready, Cause Nonreportable
04 01 Unit Not Ready, Calibration in Process
04 02 Unit Not Ready, LOAD Command Needed (a tape
cartridge is loaded but the tape medium is in an
unloaded state)
04 03 Unit Not Ready, Manual Intervention Needed (no
tape cartridge is present or a mechanical failure
has occurred)
04 07 Unit Not Ready, Loader Operation in Progress
25 90 Bad Code Update Image Header
30 00 Incompatible Medium Installed
30 02 Incompatible Format
30 03 Cleaning Cartridge Installed
3A 00 Medium Not Present
3E 00 Logical Unit Has Not Self-Configured Yet
52 00 Cartridge Error, Calibration Failure
53 00 Media Load or Eject Failed
5A 01 Operator Media Removal Request

 

[FAZ786]

Hi, have you resolved this issue. If so what did you do?
faz786

 

[vschumpy]

This thread is nearly two years old - there have probably been a dozen firmware or driver updates since then - I doubt this is relevant to any problem you are currently experiencing.

Start yourself a new thread and explain the problems you are experiencing and what your configuration is and what you have tried.

 

[25032005]

Hi to all

i think that i have the same problem. Infact since three days ago, my backup doesn't work. In the log i try this error:

20050325 094608 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:7h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094608 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:7h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094618 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:7h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094618 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:7h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094628 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:7h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094628 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:7h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094628 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094628 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094638 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094638 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094648 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094648 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094658 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094658 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094708 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094708 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094718 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094718 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094728 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094728 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094738 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094738 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094748 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094748 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094758 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094758 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094808 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094808 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094818 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094818 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094828 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094828 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094838 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094838 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094848 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094848 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094858 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094858 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094908 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094908 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094918 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094918 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094928 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094928 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]
20050325 094938 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h] SCSI Command Retry.
20050325 094938 TAPE E6300 Windows NT SCSI PORT Error[ABSL:2051 CMD:B8h NT:1h 1]


Is it a tape problem or other?

thanks for help

Mauro