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Tape Labelling needs multiple tries

Uuitenhage
Level 2

We have our LTO4 Tape library partitioned into 4 drives to match the 4 cartridges. The system has worked perfectly for about 1 1/2 years.

We started to notice (after upgrading to BE 2010r3 from r2 - and there might be no connection, don't know) that when we label a tape, go to properties, the old data is not "deleted" - or whatever a label really does. The pie chart still shows existing data. We have to label 3, 4, 5 times until it "takes." Dell has done tests and finds no hardware problem and Symantec support does not know about this either. Does anyone know about this problem/solution?

6 REPLIES 6

pkh
Moderator
Moderator
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Go to the BE installation directory and use the BEUtility to repair the BEDB.

Also, while it may not directly solve this problem, have you considered using barcode labels if your library has a barcode reader?  With barcodes, all you need to do is to put the barcode label on tape.  You don't need to label them using BE.  See my article below on how to get started

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/using-barcode-labels-why-and-how

Uuitenhage
Level 2

Thank you. I am looking into using the utitlity you suggest.

 

Thank you for your interesting bar code article.We DO use barcodes, but if we want the tape to be "blanked out" (fresh start) we need to label to "remove' the old data.

Larry_Fine
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP   

A label or erase job should do the same thing, namely make the tape appear empty.

Might your issue be a GUI refresh issue such that the label job really works, but the GUI isn't getting updated?  Next time you label a tape that doesn't appear to have worked, can you close the GUI, then reopen it and see what it says about that media?

Uuitenhage
Level 2

Tried it. Doesn't work. Tried restarting the services. Doesn't work. If I label 3 (or 4) times. It finally works. What is going on? All 4 drives in the tape library. Some tapes have only been used one week. So it is not old tapes.

Larry_Fine
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP   

Do your erase jobs work the first time?  Or do you need to run them multiple times also?

What if you erase, then label?

pkh
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP    Certified

If you are using barcode labels, then the labeling operation is not quite operative because BE will follow the barcode label when it label the tape.  Try erasing your tapes instead. However, unless you need to get rid of the information fast, you can wait for the tape to be overwritten and all the previous information on the tape.  To make the tape immediately overwritable, associate it with the scratch media set.