"Bad Header" or "error 212"

[becksolutions]

Greetings,

 

 

 

We recently purchased Dantz Retrospect Desktop Edition v4.3c, along with an OnStream ADR50 External tape drives. It is hooked up to an Apple 400MHz B&W G3 Server, using an Adaptec 2904U2B SCSI card. It is the only device on the external bus on that card, however the two hard drives that I'm trying to backup are attached to the internal bus on the same card.

 

 

 

Ever since the day of installation, I have been unable to complete a backup. The errors I get range from things like "Bad backup set header found (0x4e473254 at 571,559)" to "Trouble positioning: “1-Daily Backup Set A” (352323464), error 212 (media erased). Trouble reading: “1-Daily Backup Set A” (352323464), error 212 (media erased)". The later error occurs when Retrospect goes back to verify the backup from tape. The former error occurs when verification is disabled in Retrospect.

 

 

 

I really need this to backup without fail. We had a fire last week and almost lost everything! I've contacted OnStream about the problem and they claim that it's a problem with the software. I posted a similar message several weeks ago, and recieved NO responses, so, here we are again!

 

 

 

Please help.

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Dustin

[ZakB]

The 200 errors are always storage device generated errors which are reported to the user in an on-screen dialog and an entry in the Retrospect Operations Log. Bad Backup Set Header is also an indication of a SCSI communication problem.

 

 

 

These errors are usually due to one of the following causes:

 

 

 

1. The media is physically defective and needs to be replaced. Try using a different tape, CD or cartridge.

 

 

 

2. The heads on the tape drive are dirty and need to be cleaned. Consult the manual that came with your tape drive or contact the drive manufacturer for cleaning recommendations.

 

 

 

3. Another device is causing interference. If you have a drive immediately next to another electronic device try moving the devices further apart. Try removing one or more devices temporarily to see if there is some other device conflict. Try using your backup device on another computer to see if interference is caused by your monitor or other nearby electronic devices. Also see "SCSI Issues" in the Retrospect Users Guide.

 

 

 

4. Retrospect can also report error 206 when a crash or power failure interrupts the backup computer or tape drive. Helical scan tape drives such as AIT, DAT, DTF, Exabyte 8mm and AME 8mm require an end of data (EOD) marker on a tape to append data. If a tape does not have an EOD marker Retrospect may report error 206 (media failure) when it next tries to write data to the tape. Tape drives are responsible for writing EOD markers but a drive may not get the chance if you shut down or restart the backup computer or the power is interrupted.

 

 

 

To avoid problems take the following precautions: do not disable the "Verification" option in scripts and immediate operations; let the tape drive fully rewind or eject the tape before you power off or restart the computer; and if the computer crashes try to eject the tape (using the drive's eject button) before restarting or turning off the computer.

 

 

 

When Retrospect reports error 206 on a tape because it lacks an EOD marker that tape is unusable for future appends until you erase it, though it is not physically damaged and you can use it to restore. The tape cannot be repaired with Retrospect's repair tool. To use the tape for additional backups or archives you must first either reset the tape's backup set from Configure>Backup Sets or erase the tape from Configure>Devices.

 

 

 

When the error persists on multiple media and you have eliminated the above possibilities the device may be failing. Contact the vendor.