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Retrospect 6.1.138 stopped to see Dell tape drive


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Restrospect 6.1.138 backed up to my Dell PowerVault 110T LTO2 tape drive just fine for years. My last backup session was in April 09. Past week, when I set out to do the next regular scheduled backup mega-session, the program simply could not find the tape drive.

 

Is there any known compatibility issue between OSX 10.4.11 and Retrospect 6.1.138? Could it be some OSX update that caused this change? Other than that, I tried a different SCSI cable with the same result already, I tried to swap the cable with the terminator in the back of the tape drive (which boots, loads a tape, etc. just fine for all I can tell), I plugged in the cable in the other socket on the dual SCSI card, and the Mac OS still sees the ATTO Express PCI UL3D card in its System Profiler. The only thing I didn't do (other than checking for OS incompatibility) is to substitute an other SCSI drive, since I don't have any, nor do I know anyone in the whole state who still uses SCSI. (Why tape drive manufacturers don't switch to something current like FireWire, USB2, or whatever, already? Doh.)

 

Well, anyway, if anyone has some insight that might help me get out of this pretty mess, please let me know...TIA. I'll be sitting here, pondering what to do.

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(1) you don't say whether you are running the Retrospect Driver Update ("RDU") (or what version). Version history is here:

RDU Version History and updates are here:

Retrospect Updates

 

(2) Is there a reason that you are running such an old version of Retrospect 6.x? Update is here for Retrospect 6.1.230:

Retrospect Updates

 

You shouldn't be seeing the problem that you are seeing. If Apple System Profiler can see your tape drive, then Retrospect should be able to do so as well.

 

You don't say directly whether Retrospect can see the device in Configure > Devices. Does it?

 

Could you post a screen shot of System > Devices showing what Retrospect sees for devices, what shows for Configure > Devices > Device Status..., and also provide the version of RDU that you are running? (It is posted to the Retrospect log each time Retrospect launches).

 

See here if you are unable to post a screen shot:

Forum Attachment Rules Change

 

Russ

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Hello Russ,

 

Thank you for your reply. I downloaded and installed the latest 6.1.230 update for Retrospect, and also the latest Driver Update 6.1.16.100. After the two, Retrospect still doesn't see my tape drive, only my DVD burner, as shown on the attached screen shot. Apple System Profiler also sees only my SCSI PCI card, but no tape drive. (Its window is in the same screen shot.)

RetroScreen.jpg

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More news.

 

I downloaded the ATTO Configuration Tool, suggested in another thread and tried to configure the NVRAM. The program wouldn't open the NVRAM without drivers for the UL3D ATTO card, which ATTO doesn't offer on its web site anymore. I took a gamble and downloaded/installed the drivers for the newer UL4D card... no cigar.

 

Apple, Apple, what have you done. The tape drive host Mac is off the Net completely, so even downgrading to an older OSX (something I never did before) will be a considerable challenge.

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Apple System Profiler also sees only my SCSI PCI card, but no tape drive. (Its window is in the same screen shot.)

If Apple System Profiler doesn't see the tape drive, there is no hope for Retrospect to see it.

 

However, you haven't posted enough of a screen shot to show whether Apple System Profiler sees the tape drive. You need to select the "Parallel SCSI" entry, just below the "PCI Cards" entry, to see what was discovered at boot time on the SCSI chain.

 

The program wouldn't open the NVRAM without drivers for the UL3D ATTO card, which ATTO doesn't offer on its web site anymore.

Wrong. You just have to look under "Discontinued Products" on the download page.

 

Here is a direct link to the UL3D drivers, etc.:

ATTO UL3D downloads page

 

See if it helps to update the firmware and the .kext (driver) for the card. It may just be that you have done an "Archive and Install" of the OS at some point, which would have moved the ATTO .kext driver off to the side.

 

Russ

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Hello Russ,

 

Thank you for the pointer, I visited the UL3D page and downloaded the config tool, the driver and the flash updates. For some reason, even after I installed those (and removed the old files), this is what I get from my G5:

 

SCSI_Ident.jpg

 

If I can only find a SCSI LVD to SCSI-1 cable, I might be able to borrow an age-old Iomega JAZ or Apple 1X CD-Rom drive from my employer's electronic boneyard for a quick test... or should I try something else?

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You have at least one problem and perhaps more.

 

First, as hinted by the ATTO Config Tool, you don't seem to have an ATTO driver (.kext) installed for the Mac OS operating system. Without that, there's no way for the OS (or Retrospect) to talk to the UL3D. Perhaps the significance of my remark upthread wasn't fully understood:

 

See if it helps to update the firmware and the .kext (driver) for the card. It may just be that you have done an "Archive and Install" of the OS at some point, which would have moved the ATTO .kext driver off to the side.

It would be interesting for you to post the results of the following Terminal command, which, I suspect, will show that you don't have a .kext driver installed for the UL3D (I suggest that you copy and paste this line into Terminal so that you get it right):

 

locate .kext | fgrep ATTO

 

Here's what we get on our xServe for our ATTO UL4D:

mail:/ admin$ locate .kext | fgrep ATTO
/System/Library/Caches/com.apple.romextensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext
/System/Library/Caches/com.apple.romextensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents
/System/Library/Caches/com.apple.romextensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/Info.plist
/System/Library/Caches/com.apple.romextensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/MacOS
/System/Library/Caches/com.apple.romextensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/MacOS/ATTOExpressPCI4
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/Info.plist
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/MacOS
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/MacOS/ATTOExpressPCI4
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/Resources
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/Resources/ATTOIcons.icns
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext/Contents/Resources/Info.plist
mail:/ admin$ 

Ignore the garbage on the first and last lines - that's a bug for the forum software that was reported long ago and which has never been fixed, apparently due to an ancient version of PHP installed on EMC's server. Whatever.

 

The important ones are in

/System/Library/Extensions

and the OS builds some cached versions, pre-linked, to speed up boot time.

 

The Mac OS installation also installs some old versions from ATTO, which ATTO's downloads can then update.

 

See if that helps, report back.

 

Russ

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Hello Russ,

 

Here comes the result:

Singing-Tomato:~ George$ locate .kext | fgrep ATTO
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCIPlus.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCIPlus.kext/Contents
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCIPlus.kext/Contents/Info.plist
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCIPlus.kext/Contents/MacOS
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCIPlus.kext/Contents/MacOS/ATTOExpressPCIPlus
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCIPlus.kext/Contents/Resources
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCIPlus.kext/Contents/Resources/ATTOIcons.icns

 

So does this mean the UL3D drivers did not install in spite of the installer saying so?

 

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Hello Russ,

 

I Flashed the card again... restarted... same result

 

I installed the driver again... restarted ... same result

 

I powered off the G5. I crawled behind my gear stack, unplugged the SCSI cable and put it into my UL3D's second slot (not labeled by the previous owner with an "AVID" sticker)... bingo

 

The drive shows up in Apple Profiler and Retrospect too.

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It would be an interesting regression test to plug the SCSI cable back into the original UL3D connector. It may be that the problem was a transient oxidation of contacts, or that the plug wasn't seated properly in the original UL3D connector.

 

Or, of course, you may have a blown SCSI port on the UL3D.

 

Regardless, that would be useful information to know (whether you have a blown SCSI connector on the UL3D) so that you could mark it as such for the next time.

 

It's also possible that the original owner futzed around with some preferences in the ATTO config for that one SCSI channel, for whatever AVID device was originally connected there. I thought that AVID was a video editing system.

 

Glad that you are up and running.

 

Russ

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Hello Russ,

 

I just completed the backup run 1 of 10, 129 Gigs transferred and verified without problems.

 

I guess it wasn't an Apple problem, after all. The now working ATTO SCSI connector was the one I used during my first post. Before the driver reinstallations and re-flashing it didn't work.

 

You nailed a problem, I nailed another, who knows how many more lurk in that ancillary SCSI process... I'll rather keep just using the setup as is, and hope that by the next time it stops working, I'll be able to pick up a used LTO2 drive with FireWire or USB2 (or similar current standard) already on eBay. :-)

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  • 3 years later...

Same story in 2013. Tape drive vanished, Retrospect or OSX again wouldn't see it.

Reinstalls of driver, etc. did not solve the issue this time.

I gambled a $50 on buying another ATTO SCSI card, this time an UL4D. Installed it and... bam! Everything sees everything again.

I didn't even have to install a new driver. So the real problem in 2009 was a defective ATTO SCSI card too, probably. I'll so play frisbee with this thing...

 

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  • 2 months later...

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