New to the product and received an email with a tape error. Can anyone assist with what this error is, and any next steps solutions would be greatly appreciated
Event Code: 0x84 - tape alert
Element number: 0x03, 3
Drive number: 0x01, 1
Tape Alert Flag: 0x15, 21
Hi, this KM has the error flags for tape devices that you can refer to. http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH7645
It looks like this one is an alert notifying you that the tape drive is due for a cleaning.
Thanks for the quick response. the KM was very helpful
Also in the logs there is a drive cleaning request about every 10-14 days is that normal?
Also in the logs there is a drive cleaning request about every 10-14 days is that normal?
No, I don't think is normal, unless you run your tape drive 24 hours a day in a bad/dusty environment.
Is this a stand-alone drive or in a library? If it is in a library, is a good cleaning tape available for BE to clean the drive when the drive requests it? A dirty drive generally presents clear text alerts in BE that make it pretty obvious what is happening. You may need to do some investigating and/or testing with the hardware vendor diagnostics program.
If your tape drive asked to be cleaned despite of being cleaned recently, then it is a sign of hardware failure and it needs to be replaced. Run the manufacturer's diagnostic utility against the tape drive. Make sure you stopped all the BE services beforehand and select the write test. If it fails, then it is easier to convince everybody that the drive needs to be replaced. Even if it passes the test, it still needs to be replaced.
