My Autoloader not working well with backup exec. does not pick catridges automatically.

[sky-walker]

Backsup were not done for 2 weeks when i started at work as i was told there was some issues and as i got down researching.I manage to get the backup working only by going into the autoloader web page and putting on of the catridges into the drive. But it would not backup the nextday.It says hardware error.

Now at the moment the picker,mailslot and drive slot are always empty and i have to move the catridges into the drive slot so the backup can work but the issue is weekend as it does not backup as no IT staff is around on weekend. Some says its Backup exec configuration that i have.

I was wondering if anyone know the solution to this

i usebackupexec 12.5

[CraigV]

Hi,

I take it then that your OS is Win2K3? If so, turn off, and disable Removable Storage service (RSM) in services.msc. Restart your BE services and try again.

Should this not work, run LiveUpdate to download the latest patches and install them. Do a push-install of the RAWS agent to any remote server. Once done, run the DDI installation in BackuP Exec to install the latest Symantec drivers for the drive.

If this doesn't work, I'd then suggest you get hold of your drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility to rule out any hardware issues.

Thanks!

[ZeRoC00L]

What is the exact brand/model of the library you have ?

As it comes back with an hardware error, I suggest to look for some diagnostics tools.

You can also try to turn the server & library off, wait a minute, and power on the library, wait for it to start en then power on the server.

[sky-walker]

RSM is already disabled. and backup exec is up to date.This is my first time of using autoloaders.as what i did was to put the catridge into the drive slot in the web interface and it works for one day as i have to keep repeating this

One question is this. there are three slot Drive, Picker and Mailslot

The drive is not meant to be empty as this is where the backup is done too but what about the picker slot? Is it meant to be empty?

i use PowerVault 124T LTO4

[pkh]

Under the Windows Device Manager, check that your library is listed as an Unknown Medium Changer with a Microsoft driver and the tape drive is listed as a Dell device with a Symantec driver.

If your library is not listed in your Windows Device Manager, then you got to get help to get it recognised by Windows.  If it is not recognised by Windows, then BE would not be able to use it.

If your library is listed in the Device Manager under something other than an Unknown Medium Changer with a Microsoft driver, then use the procedure in this document to change it.

How to uninstall the Original Equipment Manufacturer driver for the medium changer in a robotic libr...

Once all these are done, you should go the Devices tab in BE and check that you have the library with slots under it.  If these are two seperate devices, then you would need to delete and re-install them.

When your library is working correctly, BE should pick up the tape from the slot, put it in the drive during the backup and return it to the slot after the job is completed.  At normal time, the drive and the mailslot should both be empty.

[sky-walker]

Hi Pkh

    the autoloader is listed under Medium changers. You made mention of

BE should pick up the tape from the slot, put it in the drive during the backup and return it to the slot after the job is completed.  At normal time, the drive and the mailslot should both be empty.

This is exactly what it does except that  i have to put the catridge into the drive slot for it to backup and once it finishes,it returns it back to the slot. If i leave it and not put it back in. I get Hardware error.

The problem i have now is how to make BE pick  the catridge automatically without me putting the catridge in manually.

[CraigV]

Have you checked that RSM isn't running? Have you managed to download and run your drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility (ie. HP's Library and Tape Tools)?

Can you also check and make sure that the SCSI cable is securely connected, and that the terminator is on correctly?

[sky-walker]

I have tried all that. The autoloader performs inventory when i ask it to and it loads catridges automatically.you can tell it to move catridges around and it does.All SCSI cable are tight.The problem i face is it does not load automatically for a real backup.i have to move the catridge into the drive from the web interface of the autoloader before i leave for the day or it would result to hardware error.

[CraigV]

...so what is your autoloader's manufacturer?

Sounds like it is a hardware issue...if BE is updated and you're running the latest drivers for BE 12.5 (and these are installed), then it might lie with your hardware...

[sky-walker]

Dell PowerVault 124T.

I need anyone advice on this as i feel this could be the problem why its not loading automatically.Under the properties of the backup. it the device and media. The device tab. there are two options with suboptions

1)Device poll which has all devices(myservername)

2)My servername which has  Dell 1 AND Quantum1

Now the device is pointed to Dell 1(dont understand the setup tbh) but i think if i change this option,would it help? like change it to quantum1 which i know is the catridges or something.

It confusing as i have not worked with autoloaders before

[CraigV]

...point it to All Devices in the job settings...it's going to pick out the drive by default.

If this doesn't work, then it is a hardware issue...

[pkh]

Post a screenshot of your Devices tab.  Expand your library entry first.

[sky-walker]

I tried it and checked this morning and it failed.Now i am trying to run it again to see where the problem is. Once the backup starts the picker slot picks up a catridge and put it in the drive which to me is fine but the drive status is on web panel says seeking

Also i was checking the content on some catridges and i found out that some folders contain  corrupt data. Is this enough for the backup on those catridge?

[CraigV]

Corrupt data will fail a job, not cause the autoloader to malfunction. Are you getting backups now on the device, and is it removing the tape from the drive and moving it into a slot automatically?

[sky-walker]

No not yet.Its still running but the drive status says seeking.I noticed most of the catridges have some corrupt data in them. The autoloader is not malfunctioning because it picks up a catridge and inserts it to the driveslot automatically.

The catridge is still in the drive slot at the moment as it still says seeking and it failed after 2 hours with hardware error.

Any help to fix this?

[CraigV · Accepted solution]

...it's your hardware. Either the SCSI card, cable or autoloader.

Here's a link to the latest Dell firmware for the device:

http://support.dell.com/support/DPP/Index.aspx?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&SystemID=PWV_DSK_124T

Here's a link to the Dell tape utility. Install and run it against the drive after stopping the BE services...

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=04&fileid=31802&formatcnt=1&l=en&rel...=

You need to do the testing on the hardware to see what is at fault. 2 final things to try:

1. Run a quick erase on a tape and try the backup in BE.

2. Run a quick erase in BE, stop the services and try the same type of backup using NTbackup.

[sky-walker]

Thanks for the info.I just wanted to ask

Do i have to erase the whole catridge? Is there a way to remove the corrupt folder?

what would be the major difference in respect to data between the quick erase and long erase?

[CraigV]

...a quick erase erases the header of the tape. It's faster, so it saves time for most purposes. If you have the time, a full erase also works well.

The whole tape gets erased...there is no way to selectively delete information. To remove the corrupt folder, locate which folder is causing the issue in your job log, open your selection list and exclude it there.

Do me a favour though...open up BE and go to Devices --> click on your drive and see if it has any Hard Write errors...this is a good indication of hardware issues. You can also check your tapes under the Media tab to see if they're showing up errors. 1 last thing...have you run a cleaning tape on the drive?

[sky-walker]

Hello everyone. I tried BE again and here is the summary. It automatically picks the catridge from slot 3 of the autoloader. Now this cartridge contain corrupt data as this was the catridge it was using before i started having hardware failure. what i do at the moment is to put it another catridge into the drive slot without corrupt data everyday through the web interface as this backsup but anytime i want to do it automatically, it picks up the cartridge from slot 3 all the time. The autoloader is fine,i think its the cartridge in slot 3

Now should i do a long erase or quick erase on the cartridge in slot 3? would that help?

Is there any way i can change the way the autoloader picks up catridge so it picks from another slot and not from slot 3?

[CraigV]

Hi,

In this case I'd run a long erase, or simply remove the tape from your backup set altogether. Tapes don't cost much now days to replace.

You can partition your library and isolate Slot 3, but slots don't cause corruption...it's the tape itself that goes bad, or the drive that is faulty, so in this case, partitioning wouldn't do anything that would help you.

I'd try the long erase, and then replace the tape if it still doesn't work.

If this continues to happen, especially on new tapes, then get that drive checked out.

Thanks!