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BE 12.5 Failed Job

ZGoggins
Level 5

I had a weekend job fail due to the storage device reported a tape read/write error. Is there anyway to fine out exactly what tape there was an error with?

21 REPLIES 21

SuperBrain
Moderator
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Employee Accredited

Yes, open the failed job log - select Expand All and look into the device and media section, you should see the media label used for that job.

Also, a tape read/write error may also be due to the tape drive itself, you might want to look into Windows Event Viewer for any hardware related errors. (Event ID's like 5, 7, 9, 11, 15)

ZGoggins
Level 5

the job used 5 different medias. So i know its one of those 5 but is there a way to see exactly which one?

SuperBrain
Moderator
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Employee Accredited

If it is pointing to a tape cartridge, it may well be the last media used in the sequence (i.e. the last media at the bottom in that list)

ZGoggins
Level 5

that is what i figured but wasnt sure if there was a way to specifically tell which one it was

ZGoggins
Level 5

I have an autoloader with slots for 24 tapes. A backup job ran right after the one that failed and that one was successfull. Does that mean one of the tapes has something wrong or is it a particular slot? 

SuperBrain
Moderator
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Employee Accredited

Possible one of the tapes.

Did you check the tape statistics on the media labels that were used for that job?

Do you see any read/write errors on any?

ZGoggins
Level 5

the tape stats show 1139 soft write errors 3 hard write errors 28 soft read errors and 0 hard read errors

ZGoggins
Level 5

and thats the tape that was last used before it failed

CraigV
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Any chance you have a new tape you can use, or get hold of a new tape? Those errors aren't too good and can indicate a problematic tape.

That said, if you have a brand-name tape drive like IBM or HP, get hold of their tape utility and run it against the drive to rule out possible hardware errors.

Thanks!

ZGoggins
Level 5

I have tapes I can use. Is there anyway I can run a practice job to see if all the tapes work?

CraigV
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You can do a Test Run within BE. Do so and see what it comes up with. But under your Media tab, check to see the statistics of your tapes...excessive hard write errors mean those tapes are most likely corrupted.

ZGoggins
Level 5

The most hard write errors I have is 3. Is that considered excessive?

CraigV
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It might not be, but I think anything over 2 is supposed to be a warning that your tapes might be starting to give you hassles. Certainly from some of the support calls I have been on that was the impression given to me by the techie.

ZGoggins
Level 5

well I will place another tape in that slot and run a test job and see if that works. That will eliminate the slot being the problem.

SuperBrain
Moderator
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Employee Accredited

Here's a technote that explains what Soft and Hard write errors are:

 

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH7363 - An explanation of "soft" and "hard" write errors visible on the Statistics tab within Backup Exec
 
 
 

ZGoggins
Level 5

So I right clicked on the job that failed and performed a test run. The test run was successful. I am going to assume that that means there is a problem with the tape and that is the reason the job failed. Am I correct?

CraigV
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You might be correct, but keep an eye on your jobs. You can always check your tapes every now and again to see what the stats are on it.

ZGoggins
Level 5

Is there anyway to know figure this out before the job runs again. The last thing I want is for the job to fail again.

CraigV
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I don't think so, no. BE will only realise there is an issue with the tape when it tries to write to it.

THanks!