Jump to content

Tape drive not "seen" when "hot plugged"


Don Lee

Recommended Posts

When I plug in my tape drive, the retrospect engine does not "see" it until I restart the engine.

 

This may be as intended, but if so, is not mentioned in the documentation that I can find.

The "rescan" operation did not appear to pick up the tape drive, but I didn't wait 2 minutes. ;->

 

Retro 9.0.1.401, Mac OS X 10.5.8, DDS USB tape drive.

 

-dgl-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The same is true for my Firewire-connected optical drive.

 

However, scanning after turning the drive on does work for me. But first I have to deselect any devices in the Storage Devices list so the name under the gear-wheel icon changes from Scan to Scan All. It actually tells me this if I hover the mouse over the gear wheel while its name is Scan.

 

Retro 9.0.1 MacOS 10.7.3, Sony DRX-510ULK USB/Firewire DVD burner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I have found that with patience, and if you push the "scan" button (in top toolbar), the tape drive will, at least sometimes, re-appear.

 

I have not tried hot-plugging a tape drive in a "cold" engine, but I can power cycle the tape drive, and the device will be automatically removed from the Retro device list. When powered back on, it will re-appear, after pressing "scan". It may also reappear without the button, but I have not tried waiting that long. ;->

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have found that with patience, and if you push the "scan" button (in top toolbar), the tape drive will, at least sometimes, re-appear.

...

Do you check that there is no device selected in the Storage Devices list, and that the label on the icon reads "Scan All", and not "Scan"? If there's a device selected and the the scan icon's label is "Scan", the scan does a completely different function (check the selected device for media) than if there's no device selected and the icon label is "Scan All" (scans the hardware for suitable storage devices).

 

Where scanning for new devices is mentioned in the User's Guide (pp 47-8), it says that the button is called "Rescan" and there's no mention of its two quite different uses. Where scanning for media is mentioned (pp 63-4 of the User's Guide), the screenshot has the label "Rescan" on the button, but the text talks about the "Scan" button.

 

The only explicit information I could find about the dual function of the Scan/Scan All button is in the tooltip when you hover the mouse pointer over the button.

 

It's pretty poor GUI design, and worse documentation, IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

When I plug in my tape drive, the retrospect engine does not "see" it until I restart the engine.

 

This may be as intended, but if so, is not mentioned in the documentation that I can find.

The "rescan" operation did not appear to pick up the tape drive, but I didn't wait 2 minutes. ;->

 

Retro 9.0.1.401, Mac OS X 10.5.8, DDS USB tape drive.

 

-dgl-

 

I think it depends on the make of the drive, not on Retrospect. I used to have this problem with Quantum LTO-3 drives, but when I upgraded to an HP LTO-5 drive, that problem stopped. However, if the drive loses power while Retro Engine is running (not writing or reading from tape, just running), the tape is foo-barred.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...