Re: Force use of tape (was Re: SCSI Voodoo strikes...(continued))

[Irena Solomon]

Instead of just restarting, try shutting down for a minute and then
restarting. This will ensure that everything is cleared out.

Regarding the tape, Retrospect is likely thinking that the error was a
result of defective media. When it asks for a new tape, it's erring on the
side of caution and preventing you from writing data to a potentially
defective tape. Craig's suggestion will allow you to reuse that tape,
although with one tape, it will be the same in function as resetting the
catalog in a Recycle backup.

The 102 error is generated by the hardware and indicates that the Mac is
having trouble communicating with the drive. The simplest test that you can
do is a backup to a File backup set; this will indicate for sure if you are
dealing with a device problem. Next, try a backup to a different device if
you have one available to see if the problem lies in the device or the
computer. And once you've narrowed it down, go through the troubleshooting
steps in order to pinpoint the problem.

Of course, if you have any specific questions along the way, please give us
a call.

Regards,

Irena Solomon
Dantz Technical Support
925.253.3050

>>> Hi again,
>>> I only received one response to the email below about 102
>>> errors disappearing after restarts...so if anyone else has any light
>>> to shed it would be appreciated. Since I posted we have found that if
>>> IE crashes (which it does extremely frequently on the backup) machine
>>> then we will always get the 102 error unless we restart first.
>>> However, this is not the only cause of the problem...
>> 
>> How do you know? Have you tried never running IE on the computer? If the
>> problem goes away after a restart, there's definitely something corrupting
>> your system over time. If the computer is a dedicated backup system, disable
>> all unnecessary extensions and control panels and don't run IE to see if it
>> happens again.
> 
> It will always fail if IE has crashed (any maybe even if it has run)
> but sometimes it will fail if IE has not been run (eg over the
> weekend).
> 
> Unfortunately the backup machine is used as a workstation during the
> day so we can't strip it down (at least not completely - we are in
> the process of trying to get rid of much as possible).
> 
>> 
>>> ... when Retrospect gives us the 102
>>> error it assumes that the current tape cannot be used and asks for a
>>> new one next time the backup runs, even if the tape appears to be
>>> less than half full...
>>> 
>>> So, is there any to force Retrospect to keep using that tape?
>> 
>> I don't know of a way to get Retrospect to append to that tape, but you can
>> certainly get Retrospect to use the tape by either setting the tape as
>> missing or erasing the tape. In either case, Retrospect will recopy the
>> files already on the media and continue to fill the tape.
>> 
>> HTH,
>> 
>> Craig
>> 
> 
> So far we have only got to the stage where we are using 1 tape per
> set (we haven't brought all the clients online yet because of the
> problems we are having). In that case I assume reseting the catalog
> is equivalent to your suggestions. We were hoping to avoid having to
> re-copy all the data already on the tape because of the difficulties
> getting our G4s backed up (519 errors, see separate thread).



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RE: Force use of tape (was Re: SCSI Voodoo strikes...(continued))

[Adrian Smith]

At 9:00 PM -0800 26/11/00, Craig Isaacs wrote:
>  > Hi again,
>>  I only received one response to the email below about 102
>>  errors disappearing after restarts...so if anyone else has any light
>>  to shed it would be appreciated. Since I posted we have found that if
>>  IE crashes (which it does extremely frequently on the backup) machine
>>  then we will always get the 102 error unless we restart first.
>>  However, this is not the only cause of the problem...
>
>How do you know? Have you tried never running IE on the computer? If the
>problem goes away after a restart, there's definitely something corrupting
>your system over time. If the computer is a dedicated backup system, disable
>all unnecessary extensions and control panels and don't run IE to see if it
>happens again.

It will always fail if IE has crashed (any maybe even if it has run) 
but sometimes it will fail if IE has not been run (eg over the 
weekend).

Unfortunately the backup machine is used as a workstation during the 
day so we can't strip it down (at least not completely - we are in 
the process of trying to get rid of much as possible).

>
>>  ... when Retrospect gives us the 102
>>  error it assumes that the current tape cannot be used and asks for a
>>  new one next time the backup runs, even if the tape appears to be
>>  less than half full...
>>
>>  So, is there any to force Retrospect to keep using that tape?
>
>I don't know of a way to get Retrospect to append to that tape, but you can
>certainly get Retrospect to use the tape by either setting the tape as
>missing or erasing the tape. In either case, Retrospect will recopy the
>files already on the media and continue to fill the tape.
>
>HTH,
>
>Craig
>

So far we have only got to the stage where we are using 1 tape per 
set (we haven't brought all the clients online yet because of the 
problems we are having). In that case I assume reseting the catalog 
is equivalent to your suggestions. We were hoping to avoid having to 
re-copy all the data already on the tape because of the difficulties 
getting our G4s backed up (519 errors, see separate thread).

Thanks
Adrian


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RE: Force use of tape (was Re: SCSI Voodoo strikes...(continued))

[Craig Isaacs]

> Hi again,
>   I only received one response to the email below about 102
> errors disappearing after restarts...so if anyone else has any light
> to shed it would be appreciated. Since I posted we have found that if
> IE crashes (which it does extremely frequently on the backup) machine
> then we will always get the 102 error unless we restart first.
> However, this is not the only cause of the problem...

How do you know? Have you tried never running IE on the computer? If the
problem goes away after a restart, there's definitely something corrupting
your system over time. If the computer is a dedicated backup system, disable
all unnecessary extensions and control panels and don't run IE to see if it
happens again.

> ... when Retrospect gives us the 102
> error it assumes that the current tape cannot be used and asks for a
> new one next time the backup runs, even if the tape appears to be
> less than half full...
>
> So, is there any to force Retrospect to keep using that tape?

I don't know of a way to get Retrospect to append to that tape, but you can
certainly get Retrospect to use the tape by either setting the tape as
missing or erasing the tape. In either case, Retrospect will recopy the
files already on the media and continue to fill the tape.

HTH,

Craig



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