cataloguing data tapes with duplicate labels

[Matt26]

i'm trying to catalogue some data tapes that were originally used in a tape drive on a different server, but the server has since been retired.

a number of these tapes have the same media labels as the tapes that are currently used on this server.. for example, a tape being catalogued has a label of LTO000030, and this server has a tape labelled LTO000030 in its media set.

so when i attempt to catalogue the tape, the tape is ejected and there's a prompt for another tape- i'm guessing because it's looking for the tape with the same label from its own media set.. i've tried to catalogue a number of other tapes with duplicate labels with the same results.

is there a way to get around this so that the tape can be catalogued?  i've tried relabelling the tapes, assigning them to their own media set, and even renaming the other tapes with the same labels and assigning them to another, separate media set, but no success so far.

using backup exec 10d (10.1) on windows server 2003 r2 enterprise sp3

old server used backup exec 10 on windows 2000 advanced server sp4

thank you in advance.

[AmolB]

so when i attempt to catalogue the tape, the tape is ejected and there's a prompt for another tape

BE is prompting for another, may be the backup has spanned over mulitples tapes.

ADAMM maintains  information of the tapes so may be the duplicate label are confusing BE.

[Ken_Putnam]

About all that you can do is create an alternate catalog folder

Shut down all BE Services

Rename the existing \Catalogs folder (eg.  \Catalogs.save)

Restart the services

BackupExec will create a new (empty) \Catalogs folder.  You should now be able to catalog those tapes

(Remember to Inventory all volumes of a multi-volume set before starting the catalog job)

Also,  remember to switch back to the production catalog  before running any production jobs

[Matt26]

thanks for the suggestion.. i tried doing this and i'm still encountering the same issue- i shut down backup exec, stopped all services, renamed the Catalogs folder, started the services again, and started backup exec.

is there anything else that i can try to get this working?

[Carlos_Quiroga]

Dear Sir:

Aside from creating a new catalogs location, you must delete the existing labels from the Backup Exec user interface, and recatalog the tapes. This procedure is called a "Long Catalog" in our internal jargon.

1. Select the affected tape with the problematic label.

2. Associate it with the Retired media set, and then delete it.

3. Go to Tools, Options, Catalogs, and uncheck the "Require all media..." and "Use storage based..." checkboxes.

4. Restart the services.

5. Inventory the tape library or tape device, after inserting the old tape with the repeated label.

6. Catalog the tape.

At some point, you may want to change the label of one of the repeated tapes, to not have to recatalog the media every time.

Regards,