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Samsung SM308 STILL DOesn't Work!


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I downloaded and installed the RDU update that supposedly fixed the Samsung SM-308B error 105 (end of data) problem.

 

 

 

My Retrospect Express log says it is running with RDU 3.0.101. However, the problem IS STILL THERE, AND IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY!!!!

 

 

 

When backing up, Retrospect Express erases the CR-RW disk, and then seems to format it. At what seems like it ought to be the end of the formatting process, it says that it has got a "damaged track", and tries to "repair" it, and then gives the 105 error message. This sequence repeats with brand-new media of two different brands

 

 

 

It seems ridiculous to me that this problem has been open for many MONTHS, and that the purported fix simply doesn't fix it AT ALL. Is there any reason that you can't work with someone who actually HAS the drive, is having the problem, and just solve it once and for all?

 

 

 

To say that I am frustrated is putting it mildly.

 

 

 

Please let me know what I should do next.

 

 

 

Harold

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Harold,

 

 

 

Just an FYI: It did work for me. I've been too busy to login to say thanks. But I did notice one problem was when it started verification, it took about 5 hours to verify the first disk in the backup set (it did a bunch of files and then hung on one file for about 2 minutes or so and so on.) The other 4 members of the set verified quickly (like 15 minutes or so.)

 

 

 

The only thing I could tell you is that I'm using Memorex CD-Rs (not CD-RWs) data CDs (don't remember the speed.) And I've updated to T104. Also, I have RDU 2.9 (exact version string I don't have now.)

 

 

 

I'll let you know if I see futher problems.

 

 

 

Bob

 

 

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Oh, and one other thing...

 

 

 

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but...

 

 

 

It seems to me that the fix for this problem involves buffering up as much data as possible in physical memory before starting the write operation, as I notice that it sits on the "Pending..." message for a long time before starting to write to the CD. And because of this, it also appears to write multiple sessions to the CD (for each block that it buffers up.) And fortunatelly it doesn't seem to create too many sessions on my system, as I have 512MB of ram.

 

 

 

So, not that I have any idea if this would help, but I thought about it, and I know that I've enabled data compression in the software. So, I'm thinking that perhaps that option might impact the performance of how well Retrospect writes to the CD (though I should think it wouldn't be that much as I'm using a 2GHz P4.) Anyway, perhaps you could try turning compression off, if you're using it. Ya never know.

 

 

 

Good luck again.

 

 

 

Bob

 

 

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Bob,

 

 

 

I am about just as frustrated as one can get at this point!

 

 

 

Since you were using the t104 firmware (I assume you got it from Dell, and it has a lower-case "t" if you display it in Device Manager?), I figured that my problems would go away if I upgraded to that, too.

 

 

 

But it only went from bad to worse.

 

 

 

First of all, the Retrospect Express execution became much more jerky. Running on a standalone machine, it "paused" during the "Scanning Files" process several times. When it finished that process and matched to previous sessions, it put up the window showing me my drive and asking me to put a CD into the drive. It said it would be labeled disk 15 of the backup set.

 

 

 

Before the firmware upgrade, I would put in a CD at this point, and that window would disappear and it would go back to the backup window and tell me that it was erasing the CD. With the new firmware, it sat there for about a full minute, and then the device window contents switched to tell me that I had put in an erased disk. And then it just SAT there. I gave up after about twenty minutes and cancelled it.

 

 

 

Before I cancelled it, I also tried clicking on the "Erased" line and then on Proceed, at which point it told me that it couldn't add this disk to the backup set because it was "too different" from the other CD's in the backup set (they are the same brand of CD-RW's).

 

 

 

Naturally, all my other software (normal CD access, CD music player, DirectCD, and Adaptec burning software) works perfectly with the upgraded firmware... it is just the Dantz software that fails.

 

 

 

When you said that you were running the 2.9 RDU, I thought that it might be that and was going to ask you to email it to me. But then you said you were running the version 3 RDU. Can you check -- are you running 3.0.101?

 

 

 

This is really IMPOSSIBLE. Why can't Dantz at least HELP in solving this problem once and for all?

 

 

 

The funny thing is that I actually LIKE the Dantz software. BUT IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!!!!

 

 

 

BTW, what did you mean that it took a long time to "verify" the first disk? Did you mean verify after writing it? I wish I could get that far!!

 

 

 

I AM using software compression, but since this is obviously a HARDWARE problem, I don't think that that will be the source of the Dantz problem.

 

 

 

Harold

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I tried it again, and let it wait for ninety minutes after I put in the CD this time in the hope that it would do SOMETHING. To no avail.

 

 

 

Once the Retrospect "device window" shows the status as Erased, it seems to just sit there doing nothing. This is as opposed to the old firmware, which promptly got rid of the "device window" once I put a CD-RW in and returned to the Backup window and said it was erasing the disc. (Of course, soon after, it failed with that error 105.)

 

 

 

I am EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED that it just doesn't work at all.

 

 

 

OTOH, if it does work for you, Bob (albeit with long wait times), there is hope, I guess. Unless it only works with CD-R's [sigh].

 

 

 

FWIW, in the minute from when I put in the CD until it comes up as "Erased", the whole system seems to be hung. I conjecture that Retrospect is in some kind of hard loop trying to communicate with the drive. This clears up once "Erased" comes up -- the rest of the machine is available again. But nothing happens in Retrospect Express. Hopefully, this will give someone at Dantz a Clue.

 

 

 

PLEASE HELP, Dantz!!!

 

 

 

Harold

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We are very sorry for any difficulites you are experiencing using Retrospect with this drive. We are doing further investigation into the problem. You may want to consider using standard CD-R media for the time being, as it is currently working for another customer on this forum.

 

 

 

Due to the nature of testing, it is not possible to predict when another solution may be available. We are making the issue a priority and will update you as soon as we can.

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Amy,

 

 

 

Thanks for your response. I come from a programming background, and appreciate the problems that can arise in software development. However, it has been *months* since this problem was reported, and it still hasn't been fixed.

 

 

 

If possible, I would like to volunteer for interim testing of fixes. My setup is definitely a known failing case -- it's extremely easy to reproduce the problem. I would very much like for the next fix to fix whatever is wrong in my case, too!

 

 

 

Harold

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Some users have reported problems with backing up to the Samsung 308b drive. During backup, Retrospect would report an error 105 (unexpected end of data).

 

 

 

Previously, we released the Retrospect Driver Update (3.0) to address this problem. For certain users, however, the RDU did not prevent this error.

 

 

 

We are pleased to announce the release of RDU 3.1, which fixes the error 105 during backup for the remainder of our Samsung customers.

 

 

 

Retrospect 6.0 and later users should not experience this problem.

 

 

 

Newly supported devices in RDU 3.1 for WINDOWS Retrospect 5.6

 

 

 

Castlewood 5.7 Gb IDE Orb Drive

 

Iomega ZipCD 16x10x40

 

Mitsumi CR-48XATE

 

Mitsumi CR-48X9TE

 

Mitsumi CR-48XCTE

 

Seagate Travan 40

 

Seagate USB 2.0 Travan 40 (TR-7)

 

Seagate USB 2.0 Travan (TR-5)

 

Sony LIB-152E

 

Sony LIB-302

 

Sony CRXP-90-MU

 

Support for WORM media added for Sony SDX-500C (firmware update required)

 

 

 

Download: ftp://ftp.dantz.com/pub/updates/rdu31.exe

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Amy,

 

 

 

I downloaded the 3.1 RDU. Here is what happens now. I try to do a back up to an existing backup set. I load a blank CD-RW of the same brand that I used for the other members of the backup set, and it changes the status of the backup drive to "erased". When I click on the name of the Samsung drive, it then enables the Proceed button. However, when I click on Proceed, it pops up a window that says "The disc can not be added to this backup set. It is too different from the other media in the set."

 

 

 

Is it possible that somewhere in the new RDU, some setting is now different than it was before and it therefore thinks that I have "different media"?

 

 

 

I am using 1x-4x Imation CD-RW disks. I tried to use a different brand of 1x-4x disks (Office Depot) for extending the backup and exactly the same thing happened.

 

 

 

If I try to create a new backup set, it somehow "erases" the erased disk without causing the green light on the drive to blink and then it DOES seem to start backing up. However, creating a new backup set will take me over eight hours of disk swapping, and I'd much prefer to do an incremental backup first.

 

 

 

I would GREATLY appreciate any help, since I have not been able to do a backup with this drive for MONTHS now.

 

 

 

Harold

 

 

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Amy,

 

 

 

Two more tidbits.

 

 

 

1 - I read this thread, and I realize that my symptom is unchanged from the previous RDU. The one change is that I did try to let it start making a new backup set, and that seemed to work.

 

 

 

2 - I am using version t104 of the firmware for this drive. That is what Dell makes available on their site. Are your testers using this firmware too?

 

 

 

Harold

 

 

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Due to problems with the previous version of the RDU, it is important to start a completely new backup set. Do not rely of backups made with the old RDU.

 

 

 

Also, we recommend using name brand media, such as TDK, Sony or Verbatim.

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