SCSI sense errors on tape

[Raynald Boucher]

Hello all,
I'm getting the following errors in /var/log/dmesg on a Linux system.
They don't seem to be critical but I suspect they are heralding upcoming events.

st0: Error with sense data: Info fld=0x2000, Current st09:00: sense key Medium Error
Additional sense indicates Ram failure (should use 40 nn)
Additional sense indicates Diagnostic failure on component nn (80h-ffh)

I have looked for explanations elsewhere but can't find any clear explanation.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

RayB

[Ivan Ferreira]

Medium error probably is related not to the device, but the cartridge. Ensure that the cartridge is compatible and a reliable brand. Try with a different cartridge.

[Raynald Boucher]

That's my problem.

The first time I saw this error, Omniback failed to format a tape. We inserted a new tape and it worked successfully.

This time, the sense error messages appeared under the same conditions, ie while Omniback was performing a backup, but the backup completed successfully or at least no Omniback errors were found.

I'm trying to get a clearer idea of what the error it so I don't get stuck with bad backups or with a bad tape drive without a replacement. Our cartridges are also aging and it would be nice to know if we have to replace them all.

RayB