12.5 sp2 update - drive stopped working

[ddorton]

This morning I ran live update and the 12.5.2213 sp2 update was downloaded and installed.  Now my tape drive is no longer working.  I have an external Dell PowerVault LT0-2 drive and when I put in any tape (including a cleaning tape) the lights on the front panel just blink.  If I try to inventory the drive it tells me it is now offline.

I have tried to update the device drivers via backup exec and that didnt fix anything. 

Any advice?  Everything was working fine last night. . . .

[chicojrman]

did you run teh tapeinst.exe to load the correct veritas?

[Ben_L_]

I would suggest doing a reboot of the server and the drive first off to reset communication between the two.  If that doesn't help, are you getting any errors in the event log and does the device show up correctly in Windows device manager?

[Larry_Fine]

I would suggest removing the media, turning the drive off, disconnecting the SCSI cable, turning the drive on, observe the lights, insert the media, observe the lights.  If you see the lights doing anything unusual, then you have a drive or media issue.

What brand of drive is it?

[ddorton]

The drive brand is Tandberg and it has the latest firmware version.

I have rebooted the server and powered down the tape drive several times and the problem is still happening.


There is an error in the system event log that I have never seen before:

HalfinchVRTS
Error 7
\device\tape1\ has a bad block

[Ben_L_]

Can you run through this technote to collect some logs for me and upload it to the ftp when prompted?

http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/318474.htm

Just enter in all 1's for the case number. Let me know after the file has been uploaded and I will pull the logs for review

[ddorton]

uploading now, thank you

[Ben_L_]

Well the only thing I see at the moment is those event id's you posted and there are a lot of them.

Here is a description of the event.
Event ID 7: Signifies bad blocks. This could be the result of a driver issue, faulty media, or dirty read/write heads on the tape drive.

I would suggest doing the following:
1. Clean the drive.
2. Attempt the backup with a new piece of media.
3. Check the manual for the light codes, generally the flashing lights occur in a pattern.  Once the pattern is identified check it against the manaul to see what it means.

I'm still reviewing all the logs, but that is the first place to start.

[ddorton]

Ben,

Those bad block errors are showing up with nothing in the drive.

I have a new drive coming early next week, I am going to try that next.

Dustin

[Ben_L_]

Well I can say this, if those errors are coming up with nothing in the drive then there is something wrong with it.  The new drive should take care of the issue.

[Matt_Alexander]

Have you received the new drive, and if so, did it solve the issue?

[ddorton · Accepted solution]

I installed the new drive an hour ago and the problem is solved.  Was just a coincidence that it failed right after the updates.

Thanks for everyones help. . .

Dustin