Scan All Strangeness

[prl]

I have a setup with a MacBook Pro that I use as a Retrospect server (local backups and a single MacBook client) with internal DVD drive and a Firewire-connected external Sony DVD drive. I normally run with the Retro Engine disabled (so other software can access the DVD drive). The Sony drive is normally left powered off.

 

For incremental backups (No media action), I usually just put a single DVD in the internal drive. For full backups (new media or recycle media), I like to use both drives so that when one completes its DVD, it starts on the next DVD and I have more time to insert the next DVD before the backup is delayed waiting for media. If I think that an incremental backup isn't going to need a DVD added, I also like to use the two drives.

 

Now, getting to the point: I often don't know that I'll need an additional DVD in a backup until I've started the Engine and the Console, so the Engine is started up with only one of the two DVD drives available; sometimes I just forget to power on the DVD first when I'm about to do a recycle media.

 

At that point, I'd like to power on the external DVD drive, do Storage Devices>Scan All to find the newly visible drive, insert the two DVDs and carry on.

 

However, what happens is that Scan All discovers the newly visible drive (and the internal one) and they show up in the Storage Devices list, but when I insert the DVDs (one at a time, first into the internal drive and wait for it to finish, then into the external drive), the external DVD drive loads its DVD correctly, but the internal drive spins up, does some seeking, spins some more, then spins down, and the internal drive's device Status entry stays at No Media, and its DVD sub-entry shows Empty. Even though it's clearly not empty.

 

Once it's in this state, Retrospect can't do anything with the DVD in the internal drive, not even eject it.

 

The only fix to get out of this state in Retrospect is to restart the Engine and Console. The DVD in the internal drive can also be ejected by shutting down the Retro engine and using the Finder to eject it.

 

I presume that this isn't how Scan All is supposed to work.

 

 

ETA: Retrospect 10.1.0 (221) (but I've had the same problem on earlier versions), OS X 10.8.4, MacBook Pro 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, external drive Sony DRX-510ULK, using Firewire connection.