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Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

 
Jonathan Sachs
Frequent Advisor

Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

I'm using a 24GB DAT drive (C1537A) with an Adaptec 2910 and Windows XP. When I start Windows Backup, I get a message box which says, "Looking for backup devices." This box
remains open for anything from a fraction of a second to several minutes. Then the backup program's normal window opens and everything proceeds normally.

While the message box is open, there is no entry for the backup program on the taskbar. Also, the message box itself has no "OK" or "Cancel" button, and no Close box in the upper right corner, so there is no way I can close the box.

Before I migrated to Windows XP I used the same drive, cable and terminator with Windows 2000 for over two years, and never had this problem. Thus it seems to be a Windows XP issue, but I got a runaround when I tried to get advice in one of Microsoft's support forums.
39 REPLIES 39
meloni
Honored Contributor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

1- this HBA has never been tested with DAT24
2- Does the dat appear at boot time?
3- does the DAT appear in device manager?
4- have you downloaded the tape drivers from HP
5- have you tried with differents drivers for the HBA?

You can also try to run L&TT to isolate the problem

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If everything is under control, you are going too slow (Mario Andretti)
Jonathan Sachs
Frequent Advisor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

Thank you for trying to help, but much of your response is unclear.

1. What is an HBA?

2. I assume you mean, does the DAT appear at boot time in the SCSI controller's list of devices? There is no list, because the 2910 does not have a BIOS. It is not intended to support bootable devices.

3. Does the DAT appear in the device manager? -- yes.

4. Have I downloaded the tape drivers from HP? -- I├в m not sure what drivers you├в re talking about. Windows NT/2000/XP has had built-in device support for HP DAT drives for as long as I can remember.

5. Have I tried different drivers for the HBA? -- may become clear when you respond to 1 a
meloni
Honored Contributor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow


HBA is the scsi controller (Host Bus Adapter),
and the drivers for the tape may be downloaded from HP site:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?locale=en_US&pnameOID=12188&taskId=135&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=42846тМй=en&cc=us&swEnvOID=228#840.
I had no problem within XP with my DAT 24, so it may be you changed somthing in the config? check for bad connection, bend pin, bad terminator, Running L&TT is a good way to identify problems
---------------X-------------------X--------------------X----------------X--------------
If everything is under control, you are going too slow (Mario Andretti)
Jonathan Sachs
Frequent Advisor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

I will look at the drivers soon (probably next weekend) and see if they help.

"Maybe you changed something in the config" -- again, I'm not sure what configuration you're referring to, but I think I can answer with confidence that I did not. Under Windows XP this process is essentially plug-and-play; I did not change anything, because I did not have to set anything. Now, maybe THAT is the problem -- I need to change something and did not.

What is L&TT? If it is a useful diagnostic tool, I would like to try it as well.

I should add that I have actually used this drive with two different Windows XP systems, having completely different types of SCSI controllers, and both exhibited exactly the same problem. The other one was a Dell laptop, with software installed and configured by Dell, using an Adaptec USB2-to-SCSI converter.
CA843380
Valued Contributor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

Hi Jonathan,

LTT (Library and Tape Tools) is the diagnostic and support tool we provide to customers for testing, diagnosing and debugging our tape products. It also includes the ability to update firmware and generate support tickets.

It is available via hp.com, I have posted a link for you below for the winxp version.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?pnameOID=21421&locale=en_US&taskId=135&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=42863&swEnvOID=228

By all means generate a support ticket, zip it up and post here here if you need further help debugging your issue.

Cheers,

Dave Dewar
Jonathan Sachs
Frequent Advisor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

I installed the HP device driver and tried it. It works. I cannot say whether it works better or not.

Before I installed the driver, Windows Backup resumed exhibiting the "Searching for devices..." message for only a couple of seconds instead of several minutes. With the new driver, it still does so. That problem has started and stopped spontaneously in the past. If it ever recurs, I'll be able to say that the new driver didn't help. If it doesn't, I won't. This is, of course, totally inconclusive and rather frustrating.

After I posted my first message, but before I had a chance to install the new driver, Windows Backup began exhibiting a new bad habit: taking over ten times as long to verify a backup as to create one. The extra time is distributed evenly over the entire backup set, and is not associated with any verification errors, so I don't think the drive is struggling with a bad tape or a dirty recording head. With the new driver, this behavior continues.

I installed the LTT utility. It told me that my firmware was out of date, and I would have to update it before I could test the drive. I did so successfully, but when the update was complete, the utility reported a fatal error when I tried to select the drive after re-scanning the devices. I tried all of the corrective measures suggested by the error message, including the last resort of a reboot, but nothing helped. I do not think I tried this operation before replacing the firmware, so I cannot say whether installing the new firmware caused it, or merely failed to correct it. As far as I can tell, the tape drive is still operational with Windows Backup.

Dave: in your last message you invited me to create a trouble ticket and post it here if I still have problems. I looked up that process in the LTT help file, and learned that "When a support ticket is generated, L&TT collects configuration information and executes a Device Analysis test on the selected device." Since my most immediate problem is that LTT blows up when I try to select a device in order to execute a device analysis test, this poses certain difficulties. If you can give me any further advice, I will welcome it.
CA843380
Valued Contributor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

Hi Jonathan,

Have you tried the drive on windows backup since trying to upgrade firmware via LTT? I am concerned that you might have had an error during firmware download that has caused firmware corruption and this might explain why LTT can no longer talk to the drive.

Also, we have had some issues reported with LTT 3.5, our latest release which we are investigating, I would recommend you uninstall LTT3.5 if that is the version you have and reinstall version 3.4sr1 from link below and see if you get better results.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?locale=en_US&pnameOID=21419&taskId=135&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=42863&submit.y=9&submit.x=7тМй=en&cc=us&swEnvOID=228

Let me know how you get on and ill do my best to help you.

Cheers,

Dave Dewar
Jonathan Sachs
Frequent Advisor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

I tried making a backup, and it was successful. The verifying operation now takes about the same amount of time as the backup.

It appears that the new driver has solved the verifying problem, and perhaps it will prevent the "Looking for devices..." problem from recurring.

I will try to find time to check out the older LTT utility next weekend. If I can do so, I will report here.
Jonathan Sachs
Frequent Advisor

Re: Windows XP backup "Looking for backup devices" very slow

When I ran a backup today the tape drive returned to its prior habit of verifying very slowly. It took about 15 minutes to create the backup, and somewhat over two hours to verify it. The "Looking for devices..." problem did not return, though.

I loaded the earlier version of LT&T without incident. When I started it, it told me that new scripts were available; I allowed it to load its default selection.

I was not sure which tests I should run, if any, before producing the support ticket. I tried running the DDS Acceptance Test, but after asking me to load a data tape, it began asking me to load a cleaning tape over and over. The fifth or sixth time it asked me, I killed it. There appeared to be no clean way to terminate the test.

I restarted the program and looked at the log. I ran a Device Analysis Test, which was successful but gave warnings. The warnings told me that I should "please insert a cleaning cartridge 5 times in a row." I doubt that would be useful, and I'm skeptical that it's even relevant, since I just did so in the previous, abortive DDS Acceptance Test. It also told me that "You have media errors logged on your drive -- please replace your media." I am skeptical about that too, since this test never asked me to load media. Perhaps it is reporting information from the previous DDS Acceptance Test. However, the media I used in that test was a high-quality brand (Fujifilm) and had been used only once before, so I'm skeptical that it has failed.

I ran a Device Analysis test, a Read/Write Test, and a Device Self Test, all of which were successful. I was particularly interested in the speed of the read phase in the Read/Write Test, in view of the very slow verify operation, but it appeared to go just as fast as the write phase.

After that I generated a support ticket, which is attached. I hope all of this will make sense to you; it did not make much sense to me!