1. Verify the hardware is detected properly by the Operating System

Open Device Manager in Windows and verify that your hardware is present. Verify that your controller, tape drive(s), and robotic library (if applicable) are present in Windows Device Manager:

In Windows 2003, right click My Computer and choose Manage. From the Computer Management snap-in, click on Device Manager (Figure 1).

(Figure 1):

In Windows 2008, right-click Computer and choose Manage. From the Server Management snap-in, expand Diagnostics and click on Device Manager (Figure 2).

(Figure 2):

If the tape drive, medium changer, or controller is listed with an error or is not listed in Device Manager, then you should verify that the hardware is connected to your server properly and that the proper drivers are installed. Verify the controller can detect the device properly by booting into the controller BIOS.

2. Review the System Event Logs for hardware errors.  While in the Computer Management or the Server Management console, review the System Event Logs and see if there are any hardware errors being reported from the tape drive, robotic library, or controller cards.

The following are examples of hardware errors that might be present in the System Event Logs:

 Event ID 5: Signifies SCSI parity errors. This can be caused by a faulty SCSI card or faulty SCSI termination.

 Event ID 7: Signifies bad blocks. This could be the result of a driver issue, faulty media, or dirty read/write heads on the tape drive. Run a cleaning job and replace the media with new media if possible. If the issue continues with new media,

 Event ID 9: Signifies SCSI bus timeouts. These errors usually occur when the SCSI bus resets itself, or the SCSI hardware does not respond in a timely fashion. Sometimes slowing the SCSI bus down can resolve these issues, as well as installing the latest SCSI drivers and firmware.  In certain high end servers, moving the SCSI card to a different Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot, one that does not share the same bus as a RAID controller has been known to fix these errors.

 Event ID 11: Signifies controller errors. These errors are generally caused by hardware that is not functioning correctly. Attempting to slow the SCSI bus down and verifying that the latest SCSI drivers and firmware are loaded can sometimes resolve these issues.

 Event ID 15: Signifies the device is not ready for access. These errors usually occur when the device is malfunctioning or configured incorrectly. They may also occur if the incorrect drivers are loaded, or the drivers are not up to date.


3. Verify the device configuration is supported by Backup Exec

3a. Verify that the inquiry string matches the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
If the device is presenting itself properly to the operating system, then it should be supplying the operating system with an inquiry string.
In order for the device to work properly within Backup Exec, the inquiry string the device provides must match exactly with what is documented on the HCL: http://entsupport.symantec.com/carveout_PID_15047_view_CL.htm 

1. The ADAMM.LOG file:
The adamm.log file is located in x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\. Open this log file using a text editor such as Notepad, and scroll to the end of the log file.  The adamm.log file is appended to each time the Backup Exec services are started, and the detailed information for each device is outputted to this log during a process called Device Discovery.

Below is example output from a Device Discovery (Figure 3):

Figure 3:



The above shows a single tape drive (Tape0) and a robotic library (MediumChanger0). The Inquiry String for the tape drive is QUANTUM SDLT320, and it is using firmware version 2E2E. The robotic library has an inquiry string of QUANTUM UHDL and is using firmware version 0016.  

2. The DEVICEMAP registry:

The Inquiry String, as well as most of the Device Discovery information, can also be found in the DEVICEMAP portion of the SCSI Registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\Scsi\Scsi Port #\Scsi Bus #\Target Id #\Logical Unit Id #\

The SCSI Port, SCSI Bus, SCSI ID (TAR), and LUN Number can be found under the SCSI Address in Device Discovery in the adamm.log file (highlighted in Figure3).
Below is the DEVICEMAP registry hive from the tape drive from the above example (Figure 4):

Figure 4:

NOTE: You should not, under any circumstances, edit the registry settings under DEVICEMAP. These keys should be automatically populated if the hardware is configured and functioning properly.

Comparing the Inquiry Strings with the HCL:

Locate your drive and/or library on the HCL. Compare the Inquiry String found in the Step 1 or Step 2 to that what is in the HCL. The inquiry string must match exactly between the HCL and what is being reported to the server by the device.

NOTE: The ^ character in the Inquiry Strings on the HCL represents the number of spaces that are expected in the actual Inquiry String.

The following is from the HCL for the above device (Figure 5):

Figure 5:

NOTE: The above (Figure 5) represents a single entry on the HCL, and would be found in a single line and not on two entries.

 

3b.Verify the connection method matches the HCL.

In addition to verifying the inquiry string, also verify that the method which the hardware is connected to the server matches what is on the HCL (SCSI, Fibre, SAS, IDE, SATA). In addition, tape drives should not be connected to RAID controllers.
Using the above example (Figure 5), this device is supported when connected via SCSI.

NOTE: There are many devices that support multiple connection methods. In such examples, the device would be listed twice on the HCL. If your device supports a connection method that is not listed on the HCL, then it is possible that your device has not been tested for such a connection and therefore support will be given a limited basis. It is also possible that Symantec is in the process of qualifying the particular device for that connection method. In these cases, please open a support case with Symantec.

3c. verify the hardware addressing scheme is correctly configured.

Verify that the device is configured to use the proper addressing scheme. The above Quantum device is a Multi-LUN device, so it must be configured at the controller level as Multi-LUN addressing.
For robotic libraries, verify that the addressing scheme is set properly between the drives and the robotic library:

• SCSI ID. If your library and/or drives support SCSI ID addressing, then verify that the library has a lower SCSI ID than the tape drives.
• Multi-LUN. If you library and/or drives support Multi-LUN addressing, then verify that the drives have a lower LUN number than the library.
• For more information on verifying the addressing scheme for your hardware, see the Related Documents or consult your hardware documentation.

4. Use tracer.exe to perform a SCSI trace while restarting the Backup Exec services.

Stop the Backup Exec services and launch tracer.exe from the x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\ directory. With tracer capturing SCSI information, restart the Backup Exec services using x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\Servicesmgr.exe. Once the services have been restarted, review the tracer log for any hardware errors or reservation conflicts.
Please see the following document for more information on capturing and reading tracer logs:

Troubleshooting hardware with the Backup Exec for Windows Servers using the SCSI Trace Utility (tracer.exe).
http://support.veritas.com/docs/285630 

5. Troubleshooting Robotic Library Issues

5a. Verify Robotic Library Support is enabled.

If troubleshooting an issue with a robotic library, verify that the robotic library support option has been installed:

In the Backup Exec console click on Tools > Serial Numbers and Installation.

In the installation wizard go past the serial numbers screen and verify that the Enable Robotic Library Support option is selected and installed (Figure 6):

Figure 6:



If the option is not selected, select the option and proceed with the installation.

5b. Verify that the SCSIChanger service is started.

If the library is not detected, and robotic library support is enabled, verify that the SCSIChanger service has been started. Click on Start > Run and type msinfo32 and hit enter. Expand out Software Environment and the click on System Drivers. Scroll down and find the SCSIChanger service and verify that it is started (Figure 7):

Figure 7:



If the SCSIChanger service is not started, or listed, then uninstall the Enable Robotic Library support option and then reinstall it.

5c. verify that the autoloader's media management is set to Random.  

If the library is detected, but you are having issues moving or managing media, verify that the library is in Random and not Sequential mode. Consult your hardware documentation for configuring this setting.

6. Install latest drivers and firmware

Ensure that the latest drivers and firmware have been installed for the tape drive, robotic library, and for the SCSI controller. Symantec drivers should be loaded for the tape drive for best performance. Symantec does not test performance or compatibility with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) drivers, unless noted on the Hardware Compatibility List.

Backup Exec tape drivers can be downloaded from the Symantec Support Web site at http://www.symantec.com/business/support/downloads.jsp?pid=15047 . Select the appropriate Backup Exec version number in the Product Version drop-down box, and select Driver as the File Type.


7. Check for Orphaned Devices in Device Manager  

Please see the following document for how to check for orphaned devices in Windows Device Manager:

How to remove old tape drivers from Windows that are no longer needed or in use.
http://support.veritas.com/docs/308914 

It is quite possible that orphaned devices may be present in Device Manager, especially after replacing hardware, or performing a firmware or driver update. Verify that there are no orphaned tape drives, medium changers, or controllers.

Remove any orphaned device(s) to eliminate any potential conflict.

8. Perform a power-cycle of the Autoloader, Tape Drive, and Server

Power down the robotic library, tape drive, and server. Power back on the robotic library and/or tape drive. Once the autoloader or tape drive has fully initialized, power the server back on.

9. Disable, delete and re-enable the device in Backup Exec

From the devices tab in Backup Exec, right-click the device and select Enable. This should remove the check mark next to the device and disable it. After disabling the device, right-click the device again, this time choosing delete.      
After deleting the device(s), stop the Backup Exec services. With the services stopped, run Tapeinst.exe from x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\. Choose the following options (Figure 8):

Figure 8:

 

It would also be advised to have tracer.exe running at this time as indicated in step #4 to review for any SCSI errors. Restart the Backup Exec services, and see if the devices are detected properly.

10. Verify that the Device and Media Service is running under a Domain Admin account.