Continuous Backup Problems

[Kevin_Dopke]

I have a Dell Poweredge 2600 Windows 2003 server with a 4mm tape drive (it says it a Dell drive)and Backup Exec 9.1, as it was originally setup it ran every night at 10PM and did a full backup. As of about a month ago, it started to fail--I would come in in the morning and the tape would be popped out. It seems to have started around the time I ran out of Sony tapes, I had new Sony tapes, then I ran out and started to reuse the old Sony tapes. Now I was just poppping them in, I wasnt moving them to recycled or scratch as I am new to backup exec and tape backups, so I eventually I decided to order more new tapes and I got TDK DDS 4 and when I would pop them in, the next day it would always be popped out and the warning would say "please insert overwriteable media" I have been reading and trying to figureout what to do, so I made a new media set and ordered new Sony tapes and now what happens is the job the used to run at 10pm and take two hours is still running the next day at 8am and has only backed up 314k. The only difference is I added the servers system state. I am just so frustrated and not sure what to do--was hoping somebody might be able to make heads or tails of my rambling explanation--help!

[Ken_Putnam]

Until you get this straightened out, just to get a backup done, insert a tape, inventory and if the header Info does NOT display in blue drag the volume to the scratch media set.

Back to your problem. What is the OPP (Overwrite Protection Period) for the media set(s) in question.

If you have used the default, it is permanent, meaning that BackupExec will never overwrite that tape.

if you plan to use the same tape every two weeks, change the OPP of the media set to 13 days, if every three weeks, to 20 days etc.

[Kevin_Dopke]

Hi Ken, thanks for the help. You know sometimes I get into such a panic I dont think straight. I am wondering could it be possible I could be backing up over the capacity of the 20/40 tape? The tape is always popped out every morning and it says to insert overwriteable media, even though the tape that is installed is brand new. I set the properties on Backup Exec to no overwrtie protection too--so I am pretty confused. Anyway, Here is the media properties for the last tape:

Used capacity: 18.4GB

Available Capacity: 719MB

Total Capacity 19.1GB

Bytes written 26.4GB

Compression Ratio 1.43:1

also that compression ratio is actualy prett good, I usually average around 1.20:1

[Kevin_Dopke]

The tapes are brand new out of package, and the overwrite protection is set to none. Here is the log file for my last try. The job started at 10pm and was still running in the morning when I got here, I think because the warning pop up said "please insert overwriteable media" even though I had set it to no overwrite protection in the job default properties.

Completed status: CanceledExpand AllCollapse All

Job Information
Job server: VISTA
Job name: Backup 0001
Job started: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 at 10:00:02 PM
Job type: Backup
Job Log: BEX00706.xml

Device and Media Information
Drive Name: DELL 1
Media Label: 4MM000053
Media GUID: {DC9DDFB6-9631-4AF0-9BA2-1FDBDEE60F10}
Overwrite Protected Until: 11/2/2005 4:01:50 AM
Appendable Until: 11/2/2005 4:01:50 AM
Targeted Media Set Name: set 2
The media is being retensioned.
Job Operation - Backup
Backup Options
Media operation - overwrite.
Hardware compression enabled.
Server - \\VISTA
Set Information - D: New Volume
Backup Set Information
Family Name: "Media created 11/1/2005 10:00:03 PM"
Backup of "D: New Volume"
Backup set #1 on storage media #1
Backup set description: "Backup 0001"
Backup Type: FULL - Back Up Files - Reset Archive Bit
Backup started on 11/1/2005 at 10:01:56 PM.
Backup completed on 11/1/2005 at 10:11:19 PM.
Backup Set Summary
Backed up 6848 files in 267 directories.
Processed 2,373,640,873 bytes in 9 minutes and 23 seconds.
Throughput rate: 241 MB/min



Job Completion Status
Job ended: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 at 8:22:53 AM
Completed status: Canceled
Final error: 0x0 -
Final error category: Other Errors

Errors
Click an error below to locate it in the job log


Backup - \\SERVER1\E: PPP Data
Media mount failed.
User canceled a Physical Volume Library operation.

The media operation was terminated by the user.
Error reading file data.
Error reading file data.

[Kevin_Dopke]

One more thing (sorry) This is the media properties of the last tape, I erroneously posted the wrong information. Does it look like I am out of rom ont he tapes and thats the problem?

General
Media label:4MM000053
Media description:
Used capacity:19.1 GB
Available capacity:68.9 MB
Total capacity:19.1 GB
Bytes written:23.4 GB
Compression ratio:1.23:1
Management
Creation date:11/1/2005 9:51:59 AM
Allocation date:11/1/2005 10:01:50 PM
Modification date:11/2/2005 12:50:11 AM

[A_van_der_Boom]

If you insert a new tape and do a manual backup test,does that work ?
If you insert a used tape, perform an inventory on it, erase it and then do a manual backup test, does that work ?
Check the amount of data you want to backup and see if it fit onto the tape.

Keep in mind that trying to get more than 20GB of data onto a tape which natively only has 20GB and 40 compressed not always works. It all depends on the amount and type of data you are trying to backup.

Regards
A van der Boom

[Kevin_Dopke]

When you say a test, do you mean right clicking on the job and doing a test run?

[Kevin_Dopke]

I tried a restore job from that tape that reported as failed yesterday and it did backup, and I was able to restore from it. The log file did report that 23 gigabytes were backed up last night, yet when I came in this morning, the tape was popped out and the prompt to insert overwriteable media was on the screen. Uggh.

[Mike_Finleyson]

When you check you tapes in the morning and it is asking for a new tape, check the Monitor tab and see how far along the back thinks it has gotten. If it's sitting at 95% etc, then yes, it probably needs a second tape. If you can't see the progress, you may need to turn on the Progress switch. (Tools\options\preferences\display progress indicators for backup jobs)

[Ken_Putnam]

If you have written 26GB to a 20/40 tape, then you have indeed probably filled the tape, and the prompt is asking for a scratch to finish the job.

[A_van_der_Boom]

No, I myself don't trust the test option and always perform a real backup with some of the files I want to backup.

Regards
A van der Boom

[Kevin_Dopke]

I thank you all from the prompt response time! OK, I am going to assume then that our backup needs have exceeded the capability of the drive. I guess I have to buy a bigger, better drive (LTO-2). IN the meantime, I keep getting this prompt when the job goes to run at night:

"Overwriting allocated media '4MM000053'.

Media Overwrite Protection is configured to overwrite allocated media.

Please consult the online help for more information on allocated media."

So now the job doesnt run at 10PM because this is popping up since I changed the media overwrite protection. Uggh!!! I want it to just overwrite the previous nights tape. Anybody know how to get around this?

[Mike_Finleyson]

I'm not sure that this is everything you need to do, but if you go to the Alert tab, under Configure Active Alerts, you will find an alert for Overwrite Media. Turn it off so it doesn't' give you any message, it just does it. You can also have it clear itself after a short time.
On the Job Setup tab, if you double click the job, it will bring up the options. Under Device and Media, Overwrite should be checked as well. Hope this helps.

[Paul_Whelan_2]

HI Kevin,

Just so you don't feel all alone:

One of my clients is running a Dell server with a 72DAT tape drive. He rang me on Tuesday with exactly the same problem as yourself. The backup runs normally until the last few percent and then ejects the tape, stating that the tape is a non overwritable media, exactly like your situation. We tried using new tapes, but with the same error. The tapes are only half full, so lack of space is not the problem. And yet the data does seem to be backed up, 30GB has been saved to tape.

Veritas was running beautifully error free for the last year