BU Exec In use problem

[RichMonarch]

Hi,

we have an issue with BU Exec 2010 r3 and our HP MSL2024 tape drive.

Recently our nightly backups have been randomly failing with an error indicating the drive cannot read the media. 

One night we will not have an issue, the next night it will fail with a read error.

Yesterday a tape got stuck in our drive and BU exec/HP software were unable to eject it. We had to pull the drive and manually remove the tape.

We tried several times to get the system to read any tape but each time the tape gets stuck and we have to manually remove it.

So, we loaded the tape drive again and after powering up our drives are stuck "in use"

Meaning we are unable to run any tape jobs or to continue to test.

Its been stuck the mode "in use" for about 24 hours now.

We are assuming the tape drive needs to be replaced but before we do we are looking for any feedback that may indicate the issue is not the drive.

Thoughts/Suggestions? 

[Siddhant_Saini]

Hello Rich,

I'd suggest you to start with checking the Windows Event Viewer > System Event log. Look for the following Event ID's- 5 / 7 / 9 / 11, and/or 15.

Please refer to the following link to get more details on it: 

While troubleshooting a tape device related issue with Backup Exec, event id 5 / 7 / 9 / 11, and/or ...

You might also want to run the Symantec Help(SYMHELP) which would help you diagnose the issue. 

This article would guide you through the step-by-step processes involved in troubleshooting tape device related issues: 

How to troubleshoot issues with a Robotic Library (autoloader/changer) and/or Tape Drive(s).

[CraigV · Accepted solution]

Forget the above and start by stopping the BE services, and then downloading and installing HP Library & Tape Tools. Run the diagnostic check which will do a health check on the library and tell you if you have any issues.

From previous (horrible!) experience with the HP StorageWorks 1/8 G2 autoloaders which used to jam as well, it was always a drive problem which saw the drive being replaced.

Thanks!

[pkh]

This is definitely a hardware problem and the tape drive &/or the tape library needs to be replaced.  Running the HP LT&T against the tape drive and tape library, as earlier suggested, would probably produce negative results and help in convincing others that the faulty equipment needs to be replaced. Make sure you select the write test and that you have stopped all the BE services beforehand.