fbackup and dlt4000

[Steve Bear_1]

I've a quantum dlt4000 tape drive connected to the K-class server running with 11.00.

We had a power failure last last weekend sadly only the DLT tape wasnt powered thru UPS.

The problem is fbackup failed with errors fbackup(3041): output file /dev/rmt/1m is currently being used and not available
fbackup(3019): would you like to enter a new output file?
fbackup(3004): writer aborting
fbackup(1002): Backup did not complete : Reader or Writer process exit

output of mt command----
mt -f /dev/rmt/1m stat
Drive: Quantum DLT4000
Format:
Status: [0]
File: 0
Block: 0
----------------------------------

and also tapedrive refused to eject the tape,

Any help?

[Robert-Jan Goossens]

Hi Steve,

Have you got time to reset the server ?

I would advise a total reboot and power cycle the dlt drive.

Regards,
Robert-Jan

[Steve Bear_1]

Already tried that but no luck.

[Robert-Jan Goossens]

Could you paste the output from ioscan

# ioscan -fnCtape

[Steve Bear_1]

tape 1 10/0.5.0 stape CLAIMED DEVICE Quantum DLT4000
/dev/rmt/1m /dev/rmt/1mn /dev/rmt/c0t5d0BEST /dev/rmt/c0t5d0BESTn
/dev/rmt/1mb /dev/rmt/1mnb /dev/rmt/c0t5d0BESTb /dev/rmt/c0t5d0BESTnb
tape 0 10/12/5.0.0 stape CLAIMED DEVICE HP C1537A
/dev/rmt/0m /dev/rmt/0mn /dev/rmt/c2t0d0BEST /dev/rmt/c2t0d0BESTn
/dev/rmt/0mb /dev/rmt/0mnb /dev/rmt/c2t0d0BESTb /dev/rmt/c2t0d0BESTnb

[A. Clay Stephenson]

I assume this is a standalone DLT. What happens when you press the "Unload" button. What are the front panel status indicators -- and are they steady or blinking. This has all the indications of a failed tape drive or a broken tape.

[Bernhard Mueller]

Steve,

you need to get that tape out of the drive.

Try switching it off/on several times and press eject. (Do not give up immediately, once it worked when I tried for the 5th or 6th time.) If it still does not eject the tape, you will have to disassemble the drive.

Regards,
Bernhard

[Pete Randall]

Steve,

Have you got this drive under a support contract? I fear it may not have survived the power failure and you may need to contact HP for replacement.

In the meantime, if memory serves, there's a manual release mechanism that can be used to eject the stuck tape - a small hole that you stick a straightened paper clip into or something like that. Take a close look at the drive and I'll see what I can find for more specific documentation.


Pete

[Pete Randall]

Steve,

Well, you can stop examining the tape drive - I found my DLT User's Guide and it says "The tape drive does not automatically eject a cartridge if a power failure occurs. The cartridge cannot be removed when the tape drive is powered down without potential risk to the tape. In the even of a power failure, power must be restored and the drive must complete the eject sequence. CAUTION: DO NOT attempt to eject cartridges manually!"

It sounds to me like it's time for a call to HP.


Pete

[Steve Bear_1]

Clay--
when i press the unload button and then tried to eject the tape the "tape in use" led starts blinking.. and nothing happened.

Pete,
i would appretiate if u let me know the process of how to manually eject the tape.

any other suggestion any one can think of?
thanks ,

[Steve Bear_1]

Pete,

The tape drive wasnt in used but the tape was inside the drive when we had a power down..

Does this statment "power must be restored and the drive must complete the eject sequence" still apply in my case ?

[Steve Bear_1]

Another question guys,

I've requested the down time and i'm taking the server down tonight. If i had to replace the tape drive do i need to do any thing from configuration point of view ? or just plug in the new one and start the server would be good enough?

[A. Clay Stephenson]

The manual ejection process is initiated by the "Unload Tape" button. It waits until any active writes to the tape are completed before trying to rewind the tape. You then wait until the "Operate Handle" LED is illuminated indicating that it is safe to eject the tape.

About the only left to try is to power the unit off, disconnect the SCSI cable, and power the unit back on. Let it go through the POST and reach steady state. At that point before doing anything else note the statius of the LED's and post that. That are really the data that are needed to proceed.

[A. Clay Stephenson]

While this isn't quite playing by the rules, I regularly replace external SCSI tape drives without bothering to power down the host. Note: I don't do this on buses that are shared with disks. I've never had a damaged component and the hosts never miss a beat -- other than a SCSI bus reset --- but that is considered to be a normal, expected event for the system. I do power down the external components and then disconnect the cables. If you make certain that the SCSI ID's are the same, connect it, power on the tape drive, and no other action is required. An ioscan -fn will tell you if the new drive is recogized.

[Steve Bear_1]

thank Clay,

can u please upload dlt4000 manual.

Many Thanks,

[A. Clay Stephenson]

All I have is hard copy.