backup fails to mount

[Guest]

I am using xp, ntbackup and doing a selective normal backup. This process
normally takes about 3.5 hours to complete. Last week, however, it started
failing.. when i came in in the morning, it said the media failed to mount
and the backup had been aborted. I looked at the logs and it had failed after
14 hours or so and had backed up about 17 gig.. Prior to this I was
successfully backing up over 20 gig, so i dont believe it to be a space
issue. Can anyone help me with this? since last week, its the same thing
every night, i have tried multiple tapes and continue to have the same issue..

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

My experience with tape, something I have not used in quite some time as a
backup medium, is that when such a message appears, the tape often needs to
be reformatted or, sometimes, the tape is no longer usable as they do wear
out.

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol.

Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/communities/mvp.aspx
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

 

[Guest]

So you think all of the tapes in my library are either bad or need to be
formatted? Just like that? I think you're right, it HAS been awhile since
you've used tape as a backup media. Just out of curiousity, what are you
using then? SAN?

 

[R. McCarty]

Tape heads get dirty, do you own a Cleaner tape ? It has a slight
abrasive surface which burnishes the heads. Otherwise, you might
need to clean it manually with long Q-Tip type swabs and use only
Denatured alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol can leave deposits on the
heads.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

I apologize, I missed the last line in your post.

While I did miss that point, that you were having the problem with all of
your tapes and it was an important point, I see no need for a response
dripping with sarcasm to a legitimate attempt to help.

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol.

Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/communities/mvp.aspx
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

 

[Guest]

awww.. im sorry man. I do appreciate your input and help, it was only mildly
sarcastic

Please pay it no mind, I really didnt intend any harm. Thank you again for
your reply to my cry for help.. i do appreciate it!

You didnt answer my q what you are using for a backup solution.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

No problem.

Right now, I'm using a combination of things as I have not yet moved to a
DVD burning; my current system is a but underpowered for the specs required
by some of these burners and for me, at the moment, that would be my
preferred primary media. I left tape behind for precisely the reason you
describe. If it wasn't an issue with a need to reformat, a very long
process on tape, they needed to be retensioned and various other issues.

At the moment, I place a full backup on a separate partition, primarily for
convenience with another full backup and images on a backup computer I use.
I also have additional backups of my data only, which are on the same backup
partition, my backup computer and burned to CD.

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol.

Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/communities/mvp.aspx
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

 

[Ken Blake]

In

awww.. im sorry man. I do appreciate your input and help, it
was
only mildly sarcastic

Please pay it no mind, I really didnt intend any harm. Thank
you
again for your reply to my cry for help.. i do appreciate it!

I was about to send you a reply much like Michael's (but not as
polite), but then I saw your apology, and thank you for it (even
though I'm not Michael).

You didnt answer my q what you are using for a backup solution.

I'm not sure what Michael uses, but my personal prefernce is an
external hard drive, not kept installed. These can either be USB
devices or IDE devices that slide in and out of a sleeve
installed in a drive bay. I use two such drives and alternate
between them.

 

[Guest]

thank you Ken, and thanks to you too Mike... Sorry for the sarcasm, I was
just trying to be funny.. It happens a lot where things are taken out of
context.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

It's all right, Justin, don't worry about it. That's the problem with
written posts, we can't see or hear expression or tone. I've had it happen
as well and had to do a quick apology for something I never meant the way
the other person took it. Chalk it up to experience and a little lesson in
newsgroup etiquette.

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol.

Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/communities/mvp.aspx
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/