Backup Exec 10d - Please insert overwritable media into the drive.

[itsofct]

Hello Everyone, thanks in advance for the help. Here is some background info.

Backing up to a Travan STT3401A with 20/40GB tapes. Backups have been successful for about three years. This month, the full backup began to give me problems. All other backups were always under 20GB. We added a new database so the backup data is around 24GB.

The backup will run normally. It gets to just about 24GB, which is how much data is supposed to be backed up, and then an alert will come to insert overwritable media into the drive.

I have Device and Media setting, WHEN THIS JOB BEGINS: OVERWRITE MEDIA and also EJECT MEDIA AFTER JOB COMPLETES

I have the COMPRESSION TYPE: HARDWARE [if available, otherwise software]

I have the MEDIA SET created called FULL BACKUP, I will note, this morning I changed the APPEND PERIOD to INFINITE - ALLOW APPEND, It was previously set to 1 Hours. I am not sure if that will change anything.

So once the job runs, the next morning when I come in, it is beeping and the alert is up to insert overwritable media into the drive. Why is it requesting me to insert overwritable media when the full data is already on the tape? I know it will take more, because I added additional files for it to backup and it will get to that point (it went to 27GB) but the same thing happened, it prompted for a new tape.

I have ran the cleaning tape twice, tried a few different tapes, nothing seems to help. I don't have a new tape to run but I wouldn't imagine that would help me. Has to be something simple I am missing here. Any suggestions?

[matt077]

had the same kind of problem on a old ver a few years back

what we did was make a new backup job doing the same job, it was backing up fine then but when he used the old job again, it came up with the same kind of problem, as we didnt config the old job we kept to the new job and is still working to this day

may be something to try? but like i said, it was on a old ver of the software

[Ken_Putnam]

if it used to work before you added the new data, you are probably filling the tape up.  20/40 just means the media will hold 20GB native (uncompressed) and 40 GB compressed at 2:1.  You will rarely if ever see 2:1 compression.  As a rule of thumb, I  normally figure about 1.2-1.3:1  See http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH6076

24GB on a 20GB tape is 1.2:1 so you are right there in the ball park

[itsofct]

If I am filling the tape up, why would it have taken 27GB the other night? My compression has to be better than just getting up to 24GB.

The tapes I am using are CTM40.

I tried to perform a Test Run and it failed:

Media Check

Online media check : Insufficient online or nearline media is available to start job.

Overwrite media check: There is no media online or nearline that can be overwritten or the job has been marked append/terminate.

Media check status : Failed

Not sure what that is all about, there was a tape in the drive.

I checked the Media Properties of the backup from last night. It says the following:

Hours in use: 130.5

Used Capacity: 18.9GB

Available Capacity: 16.4GB

Total Capacity 19.3GB

Compression Ratio: 6.48:1

Bytes Written: 442GB

Bytes Read: 1.29MB

Mounts 84

Seeks: 422

I included a screen shot.

[Ken_Putnam]

I tried to perform a Test Run and it failed:

I've never found the Test run all that useful

If I am filling the tape up, why would it have taken 27GB the other night? My compression has to be better than just getting up to 24GB.

If this is  the same data, I have no idea why you get that much difference in capacity.

All I can say is, if backupexec writes to the tape, and then posts that alert, you are filling the tape up. 

How many hard and soft write errors do these volumes have?

Are you current on firmware and drivers for the drive and contoller?

if you run a few passes of the drive manufacturer's diagnostics, what does it say?