General Fault Diagnosis - IBM 80 GB VS160 User Manual

Symptom Problem
The drive cannot write Cartridge or drive
data to or read data problem.
from a cartridge.
The drive is not Network, cartridge,
backing up data SCSI bus, backup data
efficiently. set, or backup
application problem.
The drive does not Timing or drive
eject a cartridge. problem.
The drive repeatedly Cartridge or drive
rejects a cartridge. problem.

General Fault diagnosis

If all else fails, try the following three steps before replacing the drive.
Note: After each step, retry the backup operation. If the backup still fails, go on to the next
step.
v Clean the tape drive.
v Replace the data cartridge.
v Go to the IBM support Web site at http://www.ibm.com/pc/support and look
Solution
1. Make sure that the cartridge is write enabled. Move the write-protect switch to the
write-enabled position.
2. If you are attempting to write data, make sure you are using a DLTtape VS1 Media cartridge.
3. Make sure that the cartridge has not been exposed to harsh environmental or electrical
conditions and is not physically damaged in any way.
4. Many backup applications do not read or write to cartridges that were created using a
different backup application. In this case, you may have to perform an erase, format, or label
operation on the cartridge using your backup application.
5. Make sure you understand any data protection or overwrite protection schemes that your
backup application may be using, any of which could prevent you from writing to a given
cartridge.
6. Retry the operation with a different, known good cartridge.
7. Clean the tape drive.
1. Check the network bandwidth from the host server. If you are backing up data over a
network, compare to a local-only backup for relative backup speed indication.
2. Make sure that the drive is on its own SCSI bus and not daisy-chained to another tape drive or
to the hard drive being backed up.
3. Clean the tape drive.
4. Try a new cartridge. A marginal cartridge can cause performance problems due to bad spots
on the tape requiring retries.
5. Make sure that the data is being compressed. See your backup application user documentation
for details.
6. Check the size of the files in the backup set. Small file size can impact performance.
7. Confirm that the backup application is using block sizes of at least 32KB, and preferably 64KB.
See your backup application user documentation for details.
Allow sufficient time for the drive to complete any operations, such as POST, reset, load, unload,
rewind, etc. Worst case is when powering up or resetting the drive with the tape positioned at the
physical end of the media. Recovery from this state could take several minutes. Allow sufficient
time for the backup application to release any hold it may have on the drive. Worst case could be
several minutes. Confirm that the backup application is not set to prevent media removal. Try a
software eject, using your backup application, allowing sufficient time for the command to
execute. If the drive still does not eject the cartridge, power down the drive and remove all
connectors except power from the rear of the tape drive. Apply power to the drive and allow it to
complete POST. Press the Unload/Eject button, allowing sufficient time for the command to
execute. See If the Drive Becomes Unresponsive for instructions on performing an emergency reset
to eject the cartridge. If the drive still does not eject the cartridge, contact your supplier's technical
support department.
The DLT VS160 Tape Drive rejects any unsupported cartridge, such as a DLTtape III, an SDLT
cartridge, an incompatible cleaning cartridge, damaged media, a DLTtape IV cartridge that is
either blank or was written using an unsupported format such as DLT4000, DLT7000 or DLT8000,
as well as any cartridge that causes an unsuccessful buckle operation. Inspect the cartridge and
confirm format, type, and integrity. If repeatable with a known-good cartridge, try cleaning the
drive. If cleaning does not help, replace the drive or contact your supplier's technical support
department.
for hints or tips on the 59P6719 VS160 tape drive.
Chapter 2. Maintenance and troubleshooting
2-5