recovering tapes marked as bad media

[howard_marshall]

A while back I was having problems that turned out to be an issue with my SDLT tape drive.

When I would insert a new blank tape into the library and inventory it for use, it would come back with CRC errors and get marked bad media.

At first I thought it was bad tapes but it was happening too often and I started thinking it may be the drive. When I replaced the tape drive the problem went away but now I have several otherwise new tapes that have been marked as bad media that are not actually bad.

Is there any way I can unmark them as bad media and try to reuse them? Or are they just fodder for the trash can now?

The problems with the tape drive occurred when I was using backup exec 9.1 but I am now running 10.d

Thanks
Howard

[Ken_Putnam]

IIRC, you can move the volumes to Retired Media, and then delete them

than insert and re-label

[howard_marshall]

The tapes were marked as <Bad Media> when they were first inserted and inventoried as blank media so they don't have a media label (that I know of) that I can move to Retired.

all I see when I insert them an do an inventory is this message

(Server: "BKUPSVR") (Job: "Inventory Library 00491") Job 'Inventory Library 00491' has reported Multiple Tape Alerts on Server 'BKUPSVR'. Please refer to job log BEX_BKUPSVR_05595.xml for more details.

that xml file has this to say

The device has reported the following TapeAlert diagnostic information.
Please contact your device manufacturer for more information regarding TapeAlerts.

Warning - A severe error occurred while reading or writing data. This job may not have been successfully completed.
Robotic Library: DELL 1
Drive: DELL 2
Slot: 4

Critical - The tape drive needs cleaning:
1. If the operation has stopped, eject the tape and clean the drive.
2. If the operation has not stopped, wait for it to finish and then clean the drive.
Check the tape drive users manual for device specific cleaning instructions.
Robotic Library: DELL 1
Drive: DELL 2
Slot: 4

Critical - The tape is damaged or the drive is faulty. Call the tape supplier helpline.
Robotic Library: DELL 1
Drive: DELL 2
Slot: 4


Does that mean the tape is actually bad or did it just get marked as bad when it was inserted into the "Bad" tape drive the first time and now when the tape drive inventories it, it reads that "Bad Media" marker from the tape and generates the error message?

Thanks
Howard

[Ken_Putnam]

Sounds like the tape(s) may not be compatible with the drive.  Are all volumes in that batch "bad" or just one?

[howard_marshall]

I have 5 tapes that exibit the described symptoms.  They are the same brand  and model as other tapes I am using.

[Larry_Fine]

I think <bad media> can simply be deleted without having to move them to the Retired Media set.

The TapeAlerts in the Job Log come from the tape drive itslef and are not the result of the media showing as <bad media> in BE.  You may well be dealing with bad or incompatible media or a bad drive.  I have found SDLT media to be a bit picky when moving from one type of drive to another, so if you are sure these are non-important cartridges, I would suggest running an erase job on them and see if the current drive will get them compatible and functional.