Catalog Out of Sync Error with External HD

[Jurgen Beck]

I've done a search on the forum for this message, but there are too many posts on it, so I'll have to narrow it by posting a new topic:

 

This error keeps displaying with version 7.0.326 and previous 7.0 versions. We are using external hard disks for the backups.

 

The only option it gives me is to run Tools->Repair Catalog... However, this doesn't seem to fix the problem as it shows up again on the next run.

 

How can I further troubleshoot and fix the problem?

 

Thanks,

 

JB

[natew]

Hi

 

It sounds like a hardware problem to me. I would guess bad write cache...

How is the disk connected to your machine? Have you tried running scandisk? What OS do you have?

 

Thanks

Nate

[Jurgen Beck]

Thanks, Nate.

 

The hardware seems to be OK. The disks check out just fine.

 

These are Maxtor FireWire drives, running on Windows 2003 Server. The thing is that I can wipe out the backup sets and start fresh and everything works as expected. However, I can't do that every time this error shows up.

 

Any other suggestions as to where to look next?

 

JB

[natew]

Hi

 

Try keeping the catalogs on your internal disk and the backup data on the FW disks. That may help limit the write load on the FW disk.

 

Thanks

nate

[Jurgen Beck]

Thanks, Nate.

 

The catalog files are already on the internal disk, so this shouldn't be causing any issues.

 

Anything else?

 

JB

[natew]

I see...

 

Then actually I would try it the other way with the catalog and the data files on the FW disks.

 

A catalog out of sync indicates a write failure either on the external hard disk or the internal disk. It could also be an I/O problem with some hardware component.

 

Thanks

Nate

[Jurgen Beck]

I moved the catalog files to the FW disks with drag and drop and double-clicked on the catalog files. Retrospect recognized the new location and shows it accordingly.

 

What seems to be happening at the moment is that Retrospect is showing 'Waiting for Backup Media' in the Proactive status display. None of the proactive backups are being executed for the backup set.

 

What next?

 

Thanks,

 

JB

[natew]

Hi

 

You may need to relaunch Retrospect once. If you go to configure->backup sets and look on properties for the backup sets how much space is available? You may need to recycle the sets if they are full.

 

Thanks

Nate

[Jurgen Beck]

Thanks, Nate. I'm starting to get frustrated with this scenario. Nothing that we try to do to coax Retrospect into continuing to use what we have seems to work.

 

 

 

- The external HD check out fine.

 

- Moved the catalog to the external HDs. Still no success in getting a backup done.

 

- Plenty of space available on the HD.

 

- Restarted Retrospect. Still showing that it's waiting on media.

 

- Groomed the backup sets to get rid of old data. No success.

 

- Recycled the backup sets. 0% space used for the backup set. Still showing 'Waiting on Media'. No backups are started.

 

- Other backup sets that are using the same disks execute just fine.

 

 

 

So, what am I left with? I have several systems that have not been backed up for days due to this problem. Do I have to recreate the backup sets? While I can do that, I am getting increasingly frustrated with the fact that Retrospect takes way too much hand-holding in order to make sure that everything gets backed up. That's not the idea of such an expensive backup solution...

 

 

 

Where do I go from here?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

JB

[natew]

Hi

 

I understand your frustration but keep in mind Retrospect is reacting to a problem in the environment. Retrospect isn't causing the problem on its own.

 

Are these firewire or USB disks? Are there other USB devices attached to the machine? Can you add a seperate USB controller just for these backup drives? Problems with the onboard controller or other devices could definitely cause problems like this.

 

If Retrospect is waiting for media then a member must be marked as missing or full.

 

If possible I would delete the backup sets in Retrospect and reformat the external disks. Then create new backup sets saving the catalog files directly on the external disks along with the backup data. I think this may be faster than trying to hunt down which disk Retrospect is actually waiting for.

 

Thanks

Nate

[Jurgen Beck]

Thanks, Nate, for your patient response. I do appreciate it.

 

Here is what I found:

 

For some reason that I don't know Retrospect had 'lost' the sources assignment in the Proactive Backup scripts, thus the status that was displayed. I just happened to check on some other aspect when I discovered that. I certainly didn't remove the assignment, so Retrospect must have either decided on its own to remove the sources or some other problem caused the script to loose the assignments.

 

As I stated before: The external Firewire disks are not the problem, neither is the controller or other hardware, as these same disks are used for other backup sets, which operate just fine. If we would have hardware related issues, they would also trickle down into the other backup set operations.

 

For the moment everything is back to normal operation. I'm still frustrated with the situation though, whether Retrospect is to blame or other components. Part of the frustration is the fact that I have to dig so hard and long for reasons and solutions to the issues. Most of the errors that Retrospect displays, and possible solutions, I would describe as too generic to help in the troubleshooting of an issue.

 

The fact that we've had this lengthy discussion about the issues at hand alone is proof of that. My suggestion is to have a hard look at what and the way Retrospect offers assistance when something goes wrong. If I wouldn't have needed to check on some other aspect of the automation script, I would still be looking for a solution to the issue - and no, it wasn't the hardware.

 

This in no way reflects on your attempt to help and respond to our issues. I truly appreciate your help and I think your long time presence here speaks for your willingness and eagerness to help! You have my admiration for that!

 

JB