Faulty Lto-5 Tape, Best Way To Proceed

[oslomike]

Hello,

 

I have a tape that seems to have a problem in which Retrospect spat it out and asked for a new tape. I wonder, is it possible to hop over the bad place on the tape and keep backing up on the media? Is it possible to do a quick repair from the previous tape in the set and then recycle the bad tape?

 

The thing is is that I don't know if the tape is actually bad. But at the moment, Retrospect doesn't want to do anything but have me put in a new tape.

 

Any insight is appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

mike

[twickland]

I have a tape that seems to have a problem in which Retrospect spat it out and asked for a new tape. I wonder, is it possible to hop over the bad place on the tape and keep backing up on the media?

No. Once there is a problem writing to a tape member, you cannot write past that point.

 

Is it possible to do a quick repair from the previous tape in the set and then recycle the bad tape?

Not exactly. But you can mark the problematic tape member as "lost," manually erase it, and then use it as a future new member. (Assuming, of course, that the tape isn't physically damaged and that the "bad place" is only where there was a write error.)

 

The thing is is that I don't know if the tape is actually bad. But at the moment, Retrospect doesn't want to do anything but have me put in a new tape.

As I noted in my reply to your other post, once Retrospect has detected a problem with a tape member, it will no longer be able to write to that tape and will ask for a new member.

[oslomike]

Twickland!

Thanks for the help! One last question for you when you have a minute....

 

In wanting to do as you say with marking the tape as "lost" and then erasing it. How does one go about that process if it is already asking for the next tape? Which step in the process is where I would mark the tape missing?

 

I have 6 tapes in a media set. Tape six has the problem. Retrospect is currently asking for tape 7. Should I do a quick rebuild from tape 5 and then say that there are no other members? Then continue as if tape six doesn't exist yet?

 

Sorry for the scattered questions, I'm trying to understand.

 

Thanks again.

 

Mike

 

No. Once there is a problem writing to a tape member, you cannot write past that point.

 

 

Not exactly. But you can mark the problematic tape member as "lost," manually erase it, and then use it as a future new member. (Assuming, of course, that the tape isn't physically damaged and that the "bad place" is only where there was a write error.)

 

 

As I noted in my reply to your other post, once Retrospect has detected a problem with a tape member, it will no longer be able to write to that tape and will ask for a new member.

[twickland]

In wanting to do as you say with marking the tape as "lost" and then erasing it. How does one go about that process if it is already asking for the next tape? Which step in the process is where I would mark the tape missing?

 

I have 6 tapes in a media set. Tape six has the problem. Retrospect is currently asking for tape 7. Should I do a quick rebuild from tape 5 and then say that there are no other members? Then continue as if tape six doesn't exist yet?

You have 3 options at this point:

1. Keep things as they are, retain the partial tape member 6, and begin with new tape member 7. This preserves all your data but as you noted earlier, you "waste" the rest of tape 6.
2. Go to the Media Sets window, click on the Members tab, and mark member 6 as lost. You would continue to use your existing catalog, writing to new member 7. At the next backup, Retrospect would recognize that the data belonging to member 6 is no longer available, and would back up those files again, assuming they still exist on the source. If you then manually erase the old tape 6, of course, the data written to it is gone forever, but you can use the tape as a new blank member in the future (including, if you wanted, as member 7).
3. Perform the rebuild as you describe. This has the advantage of preserving the tape member sequence without a break, but requires the hassle of a catalog rebuild.

[oslomike]

Twickland!

Thanks!! I will probably go with option 3 on your list as I have 3rotating media sets and this will keep it a little cleaner. Question though, can I do a quick rebuild from tape number 5 or do I have to rebuild from tape 1?

 

Thanks AGAIN!

 

Mike

 

You have 3 options at this point:

1. Keep things as they are, retain the partial tape member 6, and begin with new tape member 7. This preserves all your data but as you noted earlier, you "waste" the rest of tape 6.
2. Go to the Media Sets window, click on the Members tab, and mark member 6 as lost. You would continue to use your existing catalog, writing to new member 7. At the next backup, Retrospect would recognize that the data belonging to member 6 is no longer available, and would back up those files again, assuming they still exist on the source. If you then manually erase the old tape 6, of course, the data written to it is gone forever, but you can use the tape as a new blank member in the future (including, if you wanted, as member 7).
3. Perform the rebuild as you describe. This has the advantage of preserving the tape member sequence without a break, but requires the hassle of a catalog rebuild.

[twickland]

Question though, can I do a quick rebuild from tape number 5 or do I have to rebuild from tape 1?

If you enabled Fast Catalog Rebuild in the options for the backup set before you first wrote to the tape, you should have no problem rebuilding from member 5.

[oslomike]

Perfect! I did have Quick Rebuild selected.

 

Thank you!

 

If you enabled Fast Catalog Rebuild in the options for the backup set before you first wrote to the tape, you should have no problem rebuilding from member 5.