BE 10.1: "Please insert overwritable media..." - but I can't!

[Jay2000]

I use Backup Exec 10.1 with a tape loader. Occasionally, a backup job produces more data than there are tapes in the machine. When this happens, BE says something like, "Please insert overwritable media using the import command". The trouble is, while a BE job is running it's not possible to open the tape loader door and pull out the magazine, so that I can add more tapes, even if BE isn't actually doing anything and is, in fact, asking me to insert more tapes. Catch-22!

Is there a solution to this? It seems like a really bizarre flaw in the system.

[Dev_T]

Hello,

To get rid of such issues in future always keep an extra TAPE in the Library and assign that it to the SCRATCH Media Set, so next time if the jobs spans over multiple tapes it will pickup the TAPE from the Scratch Media set.

Go through the Symantec KB for information on Media Management:
http://support.veritas.com/docs/192265

[Dev_T]

Any news here?

[pkh]

Jay2000,

If you have not enabled the portal on your tape autoloader, do so.  The portal (or portals, depending on the make of your autoloader) is a feature to put tapes into the autoloader without having to remove the magazine.  If the portal(s) are properly, you can insert the required blank tapes into them while the job is running and BE will import and use them.