Ultrium 1 Tapes from Autoloader all Write Protected

[Dave Williams UK]

I may be doing something stupid here but I have a problem with my Ultrium 1 Drive within my Autoloader 1/9. The drive is reporting any tape that is loaded as Write Protected (when they are not). Apart from that the autoloader is showing the usual :-)

Running Library and Tape Tools shows
Drive 1: Serial number not reported by library
Found only 0 of 1 drives.
Equally when trying to run tests on the drive reports "No Tape loaded in the drive" whereas the autoloader shows it as loaded.
The only other information I can obtain is from the drive log (via the autoloader front panel) which shows Cartrige Memory Failure warnings for all cartridges loaded.

I've cycles the power on both the unit and the parent server its connected to.

Looks like a drive related fault.
Can anyone help please?

Thanks.

[Marino Meloni_1]

you probably know that inside the cartridge there is a CM (cartridge Memory), this memory contain all the "directory" of the tape.
The Drive access this CM to know details about the tape without the need to load the tape and read header and other services data.
The drive access this CM via radio system.
Now, if the drive cannot access this CM because the CM is corrupted, or damaged, or because of a problem in the read system of the drive, or due to high interferences, the tape is loaded in ReadOnly mode, this allow you to recover data in a cartrige with damaged CM.
Probably your drive is damaged, and cannot access any CM of all your cartriges, this is why you can only read from them,
Try to replace the drive and check if this solve.

marino

[Dave Williams UK]

I think I would agree. Having removed the autoloader from the rack I can now see 2 orange LED#s flashing (Drive & Tape Error) which implies POST is failing. This occurs before any tapes are loaded into the drive from the autoloader of course.

Other than shipping the drive off for repair (and paying the cost - about £500 in the UK) are there any further steps that can be taken to diagnose the fault?

As a 1 man business I would hate to pay out only to find it is something trivial (maybe mechanical) to fix.

Dave

[MSECO_1]

Mybe is a dropped leader.

Check this out:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=lpg50027&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=lpg50338&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=lpg50025

[Dave Williams UK]

Thanks for your help but I dont think it is a dropped leader because the error LED's light up on the drive before any tapes are loaded by the autoloader. Equally I would doubt all tapes have the same problem.

By the way it is an LTO-1 drive whereas your hyperlinks refer to DLT

Dave

[Marino Meloni_1]

You can still run Library&TapeTool, and see what is the diagnosis, you can eventualy attach here the support ticket for analysis

[Dave Williams UK]

Libraries/Autoloaders:
1 HP C7145 (Address: 10.0.0[1-/dev/sg3])

Processors/Enclosures:
2 HP SAFTE; U160/M BP (Address: 4.5.0[0-/dev/sg2])

Drives:
3 HP Ultrium 1-SCSI (Address: 10.1.0[1-/dev/sg4])
4 QUANTUM DLT8000 (Address: 20.5.0[2-/dev/sg5])

Other Devices:
5 MegaRAID LD0 RAID5 34730R (Address: 0.0.0[0-/dev/sg0])
6 MegaRAID LD1 RAID5 21555R (Address: 0.1.0[0-/dev/sg1])


Scan Details >
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building Device Map
Checking for redundant devices.
Searching for drives of Library 'HP C7145' at address '10.0.0[1-/dev/sg3]'
3rd Method: finding drives by serial number
Drive 1: Serial number not reported by library
Found only 0 of 1 drives.
1 drives of library at address 10.0.0[1-/dev/sg3] could not be found

Did NOT find all drives for all libraries
Identifying supported devices
Main > Drive Information >
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is identity information for the selected device. You can use commands to select functionality to perform on
this device.

Product ID : Ultrium 1-SCSI
Drive Technology : LTO
Mech. Serial Number :
Firmware Rev : E36R/OEM2
Target ID : 1
Target LUN : 0
OBDR Capability : Not Present
WORM Capability : Not Present

Cartridge Information (for cartridge currently in drive):
There is no media in this drive.

Test 'Device Self Test' started on device 'HP Ultrium 1-SCSI' at address '10.1.0[1-/dev/sg4]'
- Passed
- Operations Log
- Performing Device Self Test
- Test passed
- Analysis Results
- Test 'Connectivity Test' started on device 'HP Ultrium 1-SCSI' at address '10.1.0[1-/dev/sg4]'
- Passed
- Operations Log
- Performing Device Self Test
- Configuration connectivity test parameters
- Verifying device data path via loop-back test
- Test passed
- Analysis Results


- Test 'LTO Drive Assessment test' started on device 'HP Ultrium 1-SCSI' at address '10.1.0[1-/dev/sg4]'
- CAUTION: any data on the loaded cartridge will be lost. Continue with the test?
- The LTO Drive Assessment Test failed. Please refer to the Test Results for further information.
- Failed
- Operations Log
- executing LTO Drive Assessment Test...
- LTO Drive Assessment Test Finished...
- Test failed
- Analysis Results
- LTO Drive Assessment Test, module version V09.11.2006
- Product ID is Ultrium 1-SCSI
- There must be a tape loaded prior to starting the test.
- Please load a test tape and restart the test.
- Read Buffer command (reading mech EEPROM) failed:
- Byte2 0x0 SenseCode 0x0 SenseQual 0x0 ErrorCode 0x0
- Read Buffer command (reading mech EEPROM) failed:
- Byte2 0x0 SenseCode 0x0 SenseQual 0x0 ErrorCode 0x0
- Write Buffer command (updating write-back area):
- Byte2 0x0 SenseCode 0x0 SenseQual 0x0 ErrorCode 0x0
- Testing has completed and some problems were found.



NOTE THERE WAS A TAPE LOADED AT THE TIME
prl.txt log file started with SCSI Command SCSI_ReadBuffer failed with return status - 2121 at /opt/ltt/scripts_17044/common/writback.pm line 1186
and deteriorates from there.
- Test 'LTO Media Assessment test' started on device 'HP Ultrium 1-SCSI' at address '10.1.0[1-/dev/sg4]'
- Failed
- Operations Log
- executing LTO Media Assessment Test...
- checking tape load ...
- LTO Media Assessment Test Finished...
- Test failed
- Analysis Results
- LTO Media Assessment Test, version V13.11.2006
- Test run: Fri Mar 2 20:07:51 2007
- The TUR command failed:
- Byte2 0x4 SenseCode 0x44 SenseQual 0x0 ErrorCode 0x40a2
- Testing has completed and some problems were found.

Looks like Drive hasnt come up on line if Test Unit Ready failed and the POST is reporting failure too

Has anybody got a link to HP's software manual for this drive so I can interpret the ASC ASQ codes?

- Its a StorageWorks 230 or similar (I only have the HP Product Code available).

[MSECO_1]

Hi Dave,

Check the next link for interpret the ASC ASQ codes

http://www.spectralogic.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=support.senseCodeForm&CatID=247


http://hpcrlib1.gr.hp.com/customercare/Technicalsupport/diagnostics/decoder/www/html/decodetools/decodesense.html

[Glerick Dale]

Hi Dave, did you use the Library&TapeTool to check the drive #3 (HP Ultrium 1 scsi) not the Library. It should give you more info on the problem.

[Dave Williams UK]

Yes I did but could not get very far because the drive isnt really responding beyond being present on the SCSI bus. I guess if the drive fails POST it cant safely do much else.

The ASC ASQ basically says you have an unrecoverable hardware error.

I presume there are other vendor unique commands that could be used to check out the drive sub-systems but from my digging it appears those are only made available to service/repair organisations.

Pity because the company I work for used to be an OEM partner with HP. We make voice recording systems for contact centers and a lot of our technological help went into HP's design of DDS drives (10 years ago) making them reliable under hard usage conditions.

I have therefore bitten the bullet and sent my system off for repair.

Dave

[Jaclyn Rothe]

Just a suggestion that I have seen this happen when the media is good media.

If the sensor (a little plastic stick) inside the drive breaks or the spring streaches/flicks off, it can cause the drive to detect all tapes as WP.

Also just FYI... a firmware update to the Autoloader has been known to fix a WP media issue on LTO 3 drives.

But if this is because the little lever is broken... you need to either reseat the spring or replace the autoloader... it happens :)

[Marino Meloni_1]

Can you zip and attach the support ticket in it original version, (not html)