grmgroup Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) A few years back, I switched from tape to DVD. I pulled off all the files I wanted off the tapes to and backed up to 20 DVDs. From disk 21 forward, I used DVD-RW. Whenever I need a file off the disk 1-20, retrospect will prompt me for the disk but when I insert DVD I get "Incompatible Media" message. The DVD-RW disks read fine. I'm stumped that Retrospect can read and tell me which DVD the files are on but I can't retrieve data. I rarely need disk 1-20 but every once in a while - like yesterday - I really need to retrieve a file. Any idea how to force Retrospect to see the disk? Thanks in advance for your help. Edited October 12, 2011 by onpoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnis Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Which exact version of Retrospect are you using (e.g. 6.1.230)? Can you remember which version you used to write the discs? Which DVD drive are you using? Is it the same one used to write the discs? Which MacOS version are you using, and what sort of Mac? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grmgroup Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'm running Retrospect 6.1.126 on a Mac Dual 1.86 ghz using Mac OS 10.4.11. I use mac internal DVD drive. I'm not a 100% certain but I believe I was on 10.4.11 when I pulled the data off the tapes and backed up to DVDs. This was the highest OS you could run on non-intel macs. If retrospect can't read the disk, is there anyway to force the DVD to be read some other way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grmgroup Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I should note that I pulled data off the tapes into the job folder and backed up like I would any other job. All backups from the same source folder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnis Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) If retrospect can't read the disk, is there anyway to force the DVD to be read some other way? I doubt it; they are written in a format that only Retrospect recognises, as far as I know. So discs 1 to 20 were written on a different Mac? If so, do you still have that Mac? Are you able to find out the exact model number of the current Mac's internal DVD drive? Retrospect's "Devices" button should tell you this. Edited October 12, 2011 by Cygnis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grmgroup Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) I doubt it; they are written in a format that only Retrospect recognises, as far as I know. So discs 1 to 20 were written on a different Mac? If so, do you still have that Mac? Are you able to find out the exact model number of the current Mac's internal DVD drive? Retrospect's "Devices" button should tell you this. All DVD backups are on the same mac, same version of retrospect, same version (as far as I can recall) of Mac OS, same internal DVD drive. Internal drive is a Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-115D. Revision 1.13. Protocol ATAPI. The first 30 DVDs were backed up over a long holiday weekend. Is there a way to put in a DVD and have retrospect display contents. I imagine not if it's seeing the disk as incompatible. I think there is a conflict between DVD and DVD-RW that's forcing Retrospect to read one and not the other. It stumps me though that it backed up the files and it can find the specific files even if spread over several disks when I do a search but when I put the DVD in, no go. Do you need a screen shot of the error message? Edited October 12, 2011 by onpoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnis Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 All DVD backups are on the same mac, same version of retrospect, same version (as far as I can recall) of Mac OS, same internal DVD drive. Thanks for confirming. I hadn't properly understood your initial description of the computer, but I do now. Is there a way to put in a DVD and have retrospect display contents. I imagine not if it's seeing the disk as incompatible. You can't list the contents of a particular disc. You could try rebuilding the catalog, but that's a time-consuming process that I wouldn't suggest just yet. Have you tried running a "Verify" operation? I think it's under the "Tools" tab. There used to be an extension for mounting and viewing Retrospect discs in the Finder, but I think this was discontinued with version 5 (or an earlier release of version 6) due to problems with newer MacOS versions. (In any case, I haven't used it so can't say whether it would have been useful.) I think there is a conflict between DVD and DVD-RW that's forcing Retrospect to read one and not the other. I've never heard of that before, but I guess anything's possible! To test this, try marking the new DVD-RW discs as "Missing" (in Configure -> Backup Sets), then try restoring some of the older data (i.e. something from discs 1 to 20). See if you have any luck then. You can mark the new discs as "found" again after doing this test. Do you remember ever having to run Retrospect's optical drive custom configuration process (inserting blank disks that Retrospect performed some tests on)? This shouldn't have been necessary for you, since your drive is officially supported by Retrospect. Do you need a screen shot of the error message? That would be handy if possible. There are some users on here who have used Retrospect for many years, and may have encountered this issue before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grmgroup Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) Thanks for confirming. I hadn't properly understood your initial description of the computer, but I do now. You can't list the contents of a particular disc. You could try rebuilding the catalog, but that's a time-consuming process that I wouldn't suggest just yet. Have you tried running a "Verify" operation? I think it's under the "Tools" tab. There used to be an extension for mounting and viewing Retrospect discs in the Finder, but I think this was discontinued with version 5 (or an earlier release of version 6) due to problems with newer MacOS versions. (In any case, I haven't used it so can't say whether it would have been useful.) I've never heard of that before, but I guess anything's possible! To test this, try marking the new DVD-RW discs as "Missing" (in Configure -> Backup Sets), then try restoring some of the older data (i.e. something from discs 1 to 20). See if you have any luck then. You can mark the new discs as "found" again after doing this test. Do you remember ever having to run Retrospect's optical drive custom configuration process (inserting blank disks that Retrospect performed some tests on)? This shouldn't have been necessary for you, since your drive is officially supported by Retrospect. That would be handy if possible. There are some users on here who have used Retrospect for many years, and may have encountered this issue before. I tried to replicate my search from the other day and whenever I hit retrieve the retrieval quits and the log shows "not enough memory". What the heck is that? Did another search, hit retrieval and it said completed successfully without ever prompting me for a disk. Stranger, it only happens on the one folder I've been trying to retrieve since Monday. If I enter a new search term, it works normally. Edited October 12, 2011 by onpoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twickland Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I tried to replicate my search from the other day and whenever I hit retrieve the retrieval quits and the log shows "not enough memory". What the heck is that? It may mean what it says. As I recall, Retro 6 is only able to use up to 2GB of RAM, though I've never had problems searching even rather large (6 million file) backup sets. Try quitting and relaunching Retrospect. Did another search, hit retrieval and it said completed successfully without ever prompting me for a disk. Stranger, it only happens on the one folder I've been trying to retrieve since Monday. If I enter a new search term, it works normally. This is the behavior to expect if you're looking to restore a file that happens to reside on a member you've marked as "missing." Could that be the case here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grmgroup Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) It may mean what it says. As I recall, Retro 6 is only able to use up to 2GB of RAM, though I've never had problems searching even rather large (6 million file) backup sets. Try quitting and relaunching Retrospect. This is the behavior to expect if you're looking to restore a file that happens to reside on a member you've marked as "missing." Could that be the case here? I know I said skip but I don't recall telling Retrospect it's missing. How do I tell retrospect it's not missing? And I only told retrospect to skip one disk and go to the next in the hope another disk might load. Thx. Edited October 12, 2011 by onpoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twickland Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 How do I tell retrospect it's not missing? Go to Configure> Backup Sets> Configure [your_backup_set]> Members, highlight the missing member (with the poof symbol instead of a checkmark), and click "Set Found." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grmgroup Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Go to Configure> Backup Sets> Configure [your_backup_set]> Members, highlight the missing member (with the poof symbol instead of a checkmark), and click "Set Found." I did that and it still doesn't pop up. I may have to retrieve an older backup set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twickland Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 I did that and it still doesn't pop up. What didn't pop up? The name of the desired backup set or the missing member? Or did you successfully mark the member as "found," attempt another restore, and discover that the desired file still wasn't restored? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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