Urgent: Tapes getting stuck in drive

[Chris_Gerrard]

Hello,

We have a Quantum SDLT 320 tape drive in a QUALSTAR 6210 tape library. All was well until a few weeks ago... I ran an inventory job after changing tapes and the inventory job got stuck at 40% (no alerts produced). Upon inspecting the tape drive, a tape is in the drive, the tape library won't remove it and eject does nothing.

I looked under Media in Backup Exec and indicates there are several tapes in the slots but it is incorrect. It displays a cleaning tape which is not there and empty slots are showing tapes.

I assumed the tape was jammed in the drive so sent it in for repairs. It came back clean and tested. I reinstalled the drive and the exact same problem occured as soon as I tried to inventory. The company who serviced our unit thinks it could be software related... Could Backup Exec be causing this? Is there anything I can check?

We are running Backup Exec 10.0

Any assistance/advice is much appreciated,
Chris Gerrard

[ray_littlefie1]

Check the System and Application logs for clues.

I would stop all Backup Exec services, and then take the library offline and use the front panel to remove the stuck tape. Take the stuck tape out and place it aside. I would then shut down the Backup Exec server and reboot the library. Verify the library comes up in an online mode. Then restart the backup exec server.

Sometimes when a tape gets stuck, the communciations between Backup Exec server and the library just hang, and there is nothing you can do. Shutting down the BE services should allow you to locally communicate with the library and remove the tape. Rebooting the library with the Backup exec server down proves the library is healthy and passes POST. After that it's time to start the backup exec server and check the logs for erors and and verify the device is properly detected in device manager, has drivers loaded, and try the inventory again.

[Ajit_Kulkarni]

Hello Chris,

To add to Mr Littlefield's answer, I would like to know if the problem is occuring after inserting a specific tape or with all the tapes ?

Are you using Veritas drivers ?

Is the drive well detected by Windows ?

Kindly update.

Regards,


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[Chris_Gerrard]

Thankyou for the responses.

I tried your suggestions with no luck. I am satisfied that Backup Exec is not to blame. I am getting a service techo out to look at our drives this afternoon.

Thanks and regards,
Chris Gerrard

[Amruta_Purandar]

Hello,

Thank you for the update. We are marking this thread as assumed answered.

Regards,