dell autoloader restore stalling

[eliu]

Hi all,

 

 

 

When attempting to do a restore from tape using a Dell Powervault 120T connected via SCSI, retrospect seems to stall when switching tapes. All the tapes have been scanned so it knows where everything is, but when it goes to find it, Retrospect spins forever at the "Pending" stage, saying "Drive becoming ready." However the tape is already loaded and calibrated, ready for reading according to the tape drive. If the correct tape is preloaded, it will restore fine, so I know that the tape is good.

 

 

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

bye.

[AmyJ]

From your description, it sounds like a miscommunication on the SCSI bus. I've listed below some things to check for when seeing these types of issues. I suspect that with a little troubleshooting you'll be able to isolate and fix the problem.

 

 

 

Was ASPI installed correctly? Run ASPICHK (in the Retrospect Program Files

 

folder) to make sure ASPI is "green" and all components are at version 4.60. If not, try a reinstall (ASPIINST.exe). If you still have problems, consult the Retrospect User's Guide or Adaptec's website.

 

 

 

Is this Windows NT or 2000? If so, enable NT SCSI Passthrough to bypass ASPI: From the Retrospect Directory hit Ctrl-Alt-P-P. Under "Execution," check "Enable NT SCSI Passthrough." Click OK. Quit and relaunch.

 

 

 

If you still don't have any luck, I'd recommend the following hardware troubleshooting steps.

 

 

 

Update the driver software for your SCSI card(s) at their manufacturers' websites.

 

 

 

Next, do you have any other SCSI devices connected to this computer besides the tape drive? If so, disconnect them, terminate the drive, and try again.

 

 

 

Then, have you tried another cable from the computer to the (isolated) drive? Another terminator? If you haven't tried both of these, do so.

 

 

 

If you've done all of these steps with no results, try the drive connected to another computer.