Every few days , backup fails

[Mike_Perone]

Every few days , backup  fails wth this log entry:

(the job failed with the following error: A tape read/write error has occurred. This is usually caused by dirty read/write heads in the tape drive. Clean the tape drive, and then try the job again. If the problem persists, try a different tape. You may also need to check for problems with cables, termination, or other hardware issues.)

I have a new sony tape drive, new tapes , new scsi controller, backup exec 11d w/sp1, still the job fails,

I cleand the tape heads, no change,I am not doing a backup-to-disk, I am backing up right to tape,to solve the porblem i reboot the server and erase the tape again and then run the job again , that seems to work, but i want to make my backups stable and not have to montior them every night to make sure they dont fail.

[bboerst]

Just a few things to check...

-Make sure that you're using Symantec tape drivers.  If you're unsure, go into Device Manager, view the properties of the tape device and check the driver tab - it should say Symantec Corporation.  If it doesn't, you can install the Symantec drivers by going to Tools\Wizards\Device Configuration Wizard... inside of Backup Exec.

-Check your event logs after you get one of these error messages.  In some cases the OS will give you more of a descriptive error message.

-Make sure that the SCSI card that you're using isn't a scsi raid card - people have noticed issues when using these types of cards.