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What happens if you need to change a tape drive ?

Alan_Essex
Level 2
Backups have worked fine for years with version 10 but recently jobs have been consistently failing - the standard failure message implying either poor media/hardware etc.

I replaced first with new media but came to the conclusion the drive itself needed replacing. It had been an HP C1537A DDS3. Thinking it would make life easier I obtained a similar C1537A (but it was a badged Compaq model). Despite the difference in badge, they are the same drives and so I was surprised that when I tried a test backup it failed with the message:

"The job failed with the following error: Physical Volume Library Drive not found"

Please could someone point me to what steps I must follow to install this replacement drive with Backup Exec ?
And what happens to all the past backups if they are linked to the old drive ?

Thanks for your help Guys.


1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

CraigV
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited
Hi Alan,

As a rule of thumb, when I replace a drive in an autoloader, even the same type, I do the following:

1. Do a rescan of devices in Device Manager.
2. In Backup Exec, run the Device Wizard and install the drivers for your device. Select the options to delete devices that no longer exist, as well as the option to install drivers. This will delete the drive you have removed, and load the drivers for your new drive.
3. Restart BEWS services.
4. pop in a tape, and run an Inventory, and then an erase to check communication. Once done, run a small backup. This all tests whether or not BEWS can connect and use the drive.
5. Go into your jobs and make sure they're pointing at the new device. When you remove a drive and replace it, BEWS will automatically increment it...so your original HP1 will become HP2 as it's a new device. This will cause errors with your backups when they point to the original drive as HP1.

Let me know how it goes!

Laters!

View solution in original post

4 REPLIES 4

CraigV
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited
Hi Alan,

As a rule of thumb, when I replace a drive in an autoloader, even the same type, I do the following:

1. Do a rescan of devices in Device Manager.
2. In Backup Exec, run the Device Wizard and install the drivers for your device. Select the options to delete devices that no longer exist, as well as the option to install drivers. This will delete the drive you have removed, and load the drivers for your new drive.
3. Restart BEWS services.
4. pop in a tape, and run an Inventory, and then an erase to check communication. Once done, run a small backup. This all tests whether or not BEWS can connect and use the drive.
5. Go into your jobs and make sure they're pointing at the new device. When you remove a drive and replace it, BEWS will automatically increment it...so your original HP1 will become HP2 as it's a new device. This will cause errors with your backups when they point to the original drive as HP1.

Let me know how it goes!

Laters!

Alan_Essex
Level 2
I think the fact that I was replacing effectively a clone of the old tape drive was the problem.
I removed the new unit first and did a restart.
I went to Backup Exec and removed the old tape drive from the devices list and did a restart.
I checked the system and Backup Exec to make sure it wasn't mentioned and powered down - I then installed the replacement tape drive.

I then followed your steps above and it was seen this time as Compaq1
I did the Inventory and saw it working - great !

On another issue, I hadn't been familiar with Backup Exec - always leaving it to someone else to do.
I hadn't understood what is now obvious to me about running Inventory. No wonder I hadn't been able before to name tapes/clean them etc. I had previously found the help files daunting to understand.

Thanks to you for your step by step explanation which has opened my eyes and resolved other misunderstandings about the software.

Alan

CraigV
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited
Cool man, no problems...you won't have this issue again. I made the same mistake and that's how it got figured out.
Could you mark this as the solution then?

P40l0
Level 3

Hi,

after hardware intervention on automated library "HP MSL2024 - MSL G3 Series" the drive is now ot out of the library and displayed as standalone drive, but it is in the automated library HP MSL2024. There is no way to manually add the drive to the library in backup exec?

I have already done tapeinst.exe, re-installed/removed HP drives for both, tape and library, reboot the server and the library and so on ...I think that i have tryed anything, but nothing to do, the drive remain as standalone on backup exec server, why? The library and drive works fine, the drive is new. Backup exec server communicate correctly with drive and library, but leave the drive out of the library as standalone. So, I have create two logical partitions, for test, but no luck. The drive remain as standalone and "invisible" to the library.

Please, see the screenshot attached

I have only one server, no media server/remote server. 

Please help. Excuse me  for wrote here, but this blog/page not allow me to create a new post!