Media Errors

If you receive an error that suggests there is something wrong with one of your tapes, take corrective action as soon as possible to ensure the security of your data. Before replacing your tape, however, make absolutely certain that the tape is causing the problem. Try the following actions to rule out the possibility that the problem is due to another part of your system:

• Check the history of the Activity Log for the task that caused the error. Although you may receive a media error, it may only be the consequence of an earlier error.

  For example, if, during a backup job, you receive a SCSI port error and, after receiving this error, you receive errors indicating a problem with the tape or with the drive, it is possible that these errors are only a consequence of the problems with the SCSI port. Check the Activity Log for all messages and errors you received before you received the error indicating a problem with your tape to determine whether there is actually a problem with your tape, or if the tape error was the consequence of another problem.

• Monitor the library robot. If the robot is not functioning properly, you may receive tape errors. Ensure that the robot can move tapes in and out of the drives.
• Rule out the possibility of a mechanical problem with the drive. To do so, perform the following steps:
  1. Clean the drive and perform the same task again.
  2. If the tape still causes errors after the drive has been cleaned, move the tape to a drive you know to be in good working order and try the same task again. If you receive the same error, it is likely that there is a problem with the tape.

     Note: If your drives are inside a library and you want to try your tape in a different drive, the problem drive must be OFF-LINE. If Arcserve Backup did not automatically set the drive to OFF-LINE when it detected the media error, follow the instructions in Configure Library Devices to set the drive to OFF-LINE manually.

  3. Try the same task on the same drive but with a different tape. If you receive the same error, it is likely that there is a problem with the drive or some other system component.

After Determining That the Tape is Damaged or Unreadable

Once you have determined that there is a problem with the tape (for example, part of the tape is unreadable or the tape is physically damaged) replace the tape as soon as possible. Before you replace the tape, you must back up the data on the unreadable or damaged tape to a reliable tape using one of the procedures in the following sections.

Copy the Data

If you can read data from the tape, perform the following steps:

1. Clean the drive or move the tape to a drive you know to be in good working order.
2. Use the tapecopy - Tape Copy Tool Command to copy the data from the old tape to the new tape.

   Note: If the tape was part of a library, export the tape from the library so it is not reused.

Create a New Tape

If you are unable to read any data from the tape, perform the following steps to create a new backup tape:

1. Remove the unreadable tape. If the tape is part of a library, export it.
2. Insert a new tape and resubmit the backup job.

More information:

Clean Tape Drive Heads Option