Troubleshooting tape devices

Tape problems can be caused by anything from bad connections, dirty tape heads, and worn out tapes, to SCSI bus problems. By far, the most difficult of these is SCSI bus problems. These do not occur often, but when they do, they pose a considerable effort to track down. If additional help is needed, try reading the SCSI white paper located on the Unitrends web-site.

Try the following:

     Check the status of the tape unit.

     Verify the tape drive is idle and ready based on its LCD or other management interface.

     Close all menus, re-enter the menus, then stop tasker and restart it.

     Navigate to the device’s section of the menu and click the option to reset the device. This resets the device status and causes the device to resume.

     Test the tape. This performs a variety of tests on the device, including writing tape labels, file set labels, and sample data-streams. Select Task Manager > Misc > Tape Utilities > Tape Commands > TEST. If there is a configuration problem with the device it is usually detected in this phase.

Tape media errors occur

Errors occur while writing a tape label

The tape drive is slow

The tape drive is not seen