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Backup Exec 15, new cleaning tape not recognized

Chad_2015
Level 2

I recently had the problem of replacing the Cleaning Tape and having all scheduled cleaning jobs fail because Backup Exec 15 did NOT recognize the new tape. It would only recognize the old tape and kept applying this to the new tape. 

This is a glitch that needs to be addressed and to the best of my knowledge has not been. And since I couldn't find a full solution that worked on the forums or online, I'm posting here to detail what I found to work. It seems like a lot but it's actually really quick. The longest part is waiting for the Inventory to run. 

This is also uber detailed for all level of users and while some steps seem excessive, I found them necessary in order to make it work.  Hopefully someone experiencing the same problem will find this helpful. 

Steps:

  • Replace Cleaning Tape (if you haven't already or you reinstalled the old one)
  • Go to Storage tab
  • Double-click All Tape Media Details in the bottom window
  • Find the old Cleaning Tape, select it, and click Delete on toolbar at top of screen (or right-click and select delete).
  • Select the All Storage button in top left to go back to All Storage screen.
  • Double-click Slots in window below
    • NOTE: the old Cleaning Tape is still recognized here but that's ok, we are going to fix that
  • Select the Cleaning Slot (ie Slot 1) and then click the Slot Details button in top right hand corner.
  • Select Properties in left window
  • In right window, change Preserve Description to NO
  • Click the Apply button in the bottom right corner
  • Click Slots Details button in the top left corner to go back to the Slots Details screen
  • Click All Storage button in the top left corner to go back to the All Storage screen
  • Select the your storage device and click the Inventory button in the top tool bar, then select Inventory Now.
  • Click the Job Monitor tab so you can monitor the inventory job task.
  • Once the inventory task has finished running, select the Storage tab again.
  • Double-click Slots in the window below
  • Select the Cleaning Slot and then click the Scan button in the top tool bar, then select Scan Now
  • The Media Label on the Cleaning Tape should change indicating that all is working properly
  • Run a Cleaning Job 
7 REPLIES 7

pkh
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If you are using barcode labels, then you would not have this problem. Just give the new cleaning tape, a new barcode label and it would be recognised as new cleaning tape

Larry_Fine
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having all scheduled cleaning jobs fail

how did the cleaning jobs fail?  what was the error message?

what library are you using?

did you export the old cleaning tape?  or did you remove it manually?

Chad_2015
Level 2

@Larry Fine:

The cleaning job failed due to the system failing to recognize the new cleaning tape. The exact error message was:

Final error: 0xe0008234 - Library Error - attempt to clean a drive in a library with expired or bad cleaning media.

This particualr library is an EXABYTE 1 Robotic Library. And no, I did not export the old cleaning tape I did it manually. 

 

@pkh:

That's an alternative, a valid one for sure, but the point of this post was to educate people on updating the cleaning tape if they are having problems getting a new cleaning tape recognized.

To do a barcode label is either more cost (labels) and/or time to produce a barcode label (printer / file setup).

For me and many others, it's just simplier to replace the tape, click some buttons, and run a quick scan. 

 

 

 

pkh
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I am just supplementing your solution by saying that if another user is using barcode labels, there is no need for all the steps in your solution

Larry_Fine
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For me and many others, it's just simplier to replace the tape, click some buttons, and run a quick scan. 

A scan doesn't do much if you aren't using bar codes and the same slots are still occupied (regardless of the content, data or cleaning).

An inventory job of a cleaning cartridge will actually cost you one cleaning cycle of that cartridge.

Larry_Fine
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The cleaning job failed due to the system failing to recognize the new cleaning tape. The exact error message was:

Final error: 0xe0008234 - Library Error - attempt to clean a drive in a library with expired or bad cleaning media.

This particualr library is an EXABYTE 1 Robotic Library. And no, I did not export the old cleaning tape I did it manually. 

Since you stated that the cleaning cartridge had been replaced, I am assuming that that error message was NOT the result of the cartridge being inserted into the tape drive and then the tape drive reporting to BE that the cartridge was expired.

What I suspect happened was that the counter that BE keeps about the number of times that a cleaning cartridge has been used hit the upper limit (the default is 20).  You then replaced the tape without BE's knowledge.  Then when you attempt to clean, BE still thought that the cleaning cartridge had been used the max number of times.

Solutions/workarounds/advice:

  • export the used up cleaning media (so that BE knows that it has been changed), rather than changing it manually.
  • use bar codes.  They really are highly useful.
  • When you manually change cleaning cartridges, go into the media properties of that cartridge and increase the max cleaning count

 

BTW, not that it matters to this discussion, but I don't think that I see your library on the BE 15 HCL.

pkh
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As an aside, you would find that the returns from the operation efficiency of using barcode labels far outweigh the cost and time to implement them.  For example, it only take a few seconds to update the library status using scan if you are using barcode labels versus half an hour to inventory an entire library if you are not using barcode labels.