Cartridge won't eject unless BE services are stopped.

[mac_collins]

We have an Intel Server that is using an Iomega REV drive as the primary backup device.  The eject button on the drive only works if BE services are stopped.  Choosing the "Eject media after completion" option causes the job to stay active and never complete - it never ejects the cartridge either.  Using the Eject command as a post-completion command ejects the tape, but it creates an Eject job that never completes.

I am using BE12 on a Windows Server 2003 system.  Any ideas?

[mrthomasbrown]

I am having the same problem, I am running Windows Server 2008SP1 and BE 12SP1

the jobs run fine, But I cannot get the REV drives to eject. I get a message on one drive that it is still in Use but there are no active jobs to the REV drives and all jobs have completed Successfully.

[mac_collins]

I still have the same problem, except now the eject jobs are intermittently failing.  I am very disappointed in Backup Exec for not addressing this problem.  The problem also exists with USB and other removable devices as well.  It's really sad when ver. 10d works better than 12.  If anyone has a solution, I would LOVE to hear it.

[Steve_W_]

Have you upgraded to the latest drivers for Backup Exec 12?  I have provided a link to download the drivers below.

http://support.veritas.com/docs/307453 64bit Driver

http://support.veritas.com/docs/307452 32bit Driver

[Jeremy1026]

Can anyone confirm whether or not the aforementioned Backup Exec driver updates resolves this issue?  I am experiencing the same symptoms with multiple servers we have installed for our clients

[mac_collins]

Sorry for the delayed response.  No, the new drivers did NOT solve the problem.  I have uninstalled the product completely and re-setup the program to no avail.  I have uninstalled all the Symantec drivers, installed all the updates, and the SQL backup service still will not release the drive when the backup is complete.  I no longer have to the choice to create a removeable backup folder with the device as the REV drive letter is no longer an option.

I am VERY unhappy with this version.  We payed nearly DOUBLE the price (from $599 to $899) we used to pay for this product and it is MORE unreliable than any previous release.  Even versions 10d and 11d worked better than this.  Now, 12.5 is out and I would have to pay even MORE money in order to obtain a code for it, because the version 12 code will not work with it. Maybe NOVAstor will do a better job.

Message Edited by mac collins on 01-12-2009 05:29 AM

[Jeremy1026]

we were using NTBackup that was built into server 2003 but that has been removed in server 2008 so we needed another backup solution.  we decided to go with backup exec since we are a reseller for symantec and are already selling their A/V.

we have installed 5 or so systems with Server 2008, REV 70GB SATA drives, and Backup Exec 12 and every system experiences this issue where the drive gets locked and will not eject the tape without rebooting the system.

i have been getting several phone calls a week from our clients that are not very happy with their new system because of this problem.  It makes us look bad because we are unable to resolve the problem and one of our clients is refusing to pay their invoice until we fix this issue.

Symantec:  when are you going to resolve this issue?

[Joshua_Kane]

Hello Jeremy:

I am looking for a bit more information so I can try to assist with this.

1) Are your utilizing the GRT Technology for these backups

2) Are there any warning or falure alerts (Yellow or Red) awaiting your attention in the UI.

3) Does the device and or media show as in-use in the UI when you cannot eject? This is indicated by a green arrow by the device and/or media.

Also some clarification on the eject failure, how are you attempting to eject the media?

An eject job from BE
An eject operation from Windows Explorer (by right clicking the drive)
An eject media after backup completes
Pressing the eject button on the physical unit

[Jeremy1026]

1) This is not something that we have configured it to use. So if it takes advantage of GRT by default then yes, if not then no.

2) There are not. Even if there are and we clear them out the tapes still do not eject.

3) I honestly have never seen a green arrow pointing to the device in BE. I just know that when it errors it states that it is currently in use. That is the error that you get when you right click on the drive and when running an eject job from BE.

We have tried all of the ejection methods described and none of them will eject the tape.

[mac_collins]

Eject button does not work at all efter a job has used the device.  Before that, the eject button works fine.  If you stop the BkupExec SQL service, the drive will eject cartridge properly.

If you right-click the device and choose "Eject," an eject job initiates and ejects the cartridge, well, most of the time anyway.

If you use the "Eject Media upon job completion" option, about half the time the cartridge will eject, but the job stays open until someone inherently knows to acknowledge the "Remove Media from Drive" alert.  Thus, the job stays open.

We are aiming to provide our customers with an automated, reliable, and easy-to-use backup solution.  Unfortunately, not being able to use the eject button is keeping us from providing that with this version of BE.

[Joshua_Kane]

thiere is one other factor that can play into this.  It is the type of B2D you are createing.  In our testing we have seen issues with the eject functionality and standard Backup to Disk Locations.  We were able to recreate the issue of cartridges not ejecting if a standard B2D Location was created.  Backup Exec also lets you create "Removable Backup to Disk Locations"  With this type of location created we have not been able to reproduce the behavior. Can one or both of you verify what type of B2D Device you have created?  Also I would like the oppertunity to see this behavior first hand.  If you have the ability to let me remote into your machines please e-mail me at Josh_Kane at Symantec.com and I will arrange this.

-- Joshua

[mac_collins]

More info:

Now the software eject fails with "access denied" error.  If I stop the SQL Service for BKUPEXEC, I am able to eject the cartridge using the eject button on the drive.  There is no green arrow on the drive when attempting to eject, and there are no active jobs.  Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to allow remote access to the server at this time, but if that opportunity presents itself, I'll let you know.

[mac_collins]

I'm not sure what you mean by "what b2d you are creating."  The new version will not allow us to create a b2d folder for the backup device.  It automatically detects and creates the Iomega RRD device and will not let you create one manually.

[Jeremy1026]

Sorry i haven't got back to this post in a couple weeks.

One of our clients just experienced the tape eject issue but we did not have them setup to use a Removeable Backup to Disk folder.

we just changed their configuration and are going to look over the other servers to make sure they are configured accordingly.

I will update this post and shoot you an email Joshua if / when this happens.  You should be able to gain remote access to our servers if necessary when the problem arrises.

Thanks for your help