Windows Backup server not backing up

[Rich]

Our backup server stops in the middle of backing up, sometimes:

 

 

 

OS: Winnt4.0 sp6

 

Retrospect 5.6

 

tape drive: Sony TSL-SA500C (scsi)

 

 

 

Occasionally, backups just stop, *with no warning*. Example: I have a

 

backup server script running evenings and weekends--nothing fancy. Here's

 

last weekend:

 

 

 

- 4/26/2002 8:04:38 PM: Copying $[*!20612,,14,+3]Drive C (C:)$[3] on

 

WORKSTATION$[4]

 

4/26/2002 8:04:38 PM: Connected to $[*!20780,,14,+3]WORKSTATION

 

4/26/2002 8:06:03 PM: Snapshot stored, 8,988 KB

 

4/26/2002 8:06:08 PM: Comparing $[*!20612,,14,+3]Drive C (C:)$[3] on

 

WORKSTATION$[4]

 

4/26/2002 8:06:24 PM: Execution completed successfully

 

$[126643250780820000]

 

Completed: 17 files, 312 KB

 

Performance: 2.4 MB/minute (1.6 copy, 6.0 compare)

 

Duration: 00:01:46 (00:01:30 idle/loading/preparing)

 

 

 

- 4/29/2002 8:18 AM: Backup Server stopped

 

 

 

 

 

Notice that nothing happened for DAYS. Not included is the rest of the

 

backup log. This LAN has some 30 clients, and this was the 6th one to

 

execute. There were many other machines that were due for a backup

 

(modified within 24 hours). Of course, this included all the information on

 

some servers.

 

 

 

This has happened many times. It is usually accompanied by the following

 

events: Retrospect freezes on shutdown, and a force quit and restart yields

 

a loss of tape device control. The server has to be restarted(!). Usually,

 

the log shows an insanely long time (like a day and a half for weekend

 

backups) for a particular backup until Monday rolls around and the script

 

stops because of the scheduling.

 

 

 

This is not good.

 

 

 

I have been dealing with this problem for months, since long before

 

telephone support (one of the selling points of the product) was switched to

 

pay-per-use. Techicians were helpful, friendly, and totally unable to fix

 

the problem. The best advice I got was to reinstall TCP/IP and SCSI drivers

 

on the server--which was no help.

 

 

 

Diligent Googling revealed the "secret preferences", that one poster

 

mentioned cleared his freezing if he turned on SCSI passthrough. I can only

 

wonder why nobody mentioned this to me. In any case, it didn't help. A

 

while afterwards, it happened again. Note that I cannot reproduce the

 

problem with a particular sequence of events.

 

 

 

-Rich Fletcher

 

DRS Technical Services, Inc.