backup problem

[Ron Harter]

I have an HP C1537A 4mm DAT tape drive on my system. When I was running
Win2K I never had a problem backing up my system. Since I upgraded to
Windows XP I am not able to do any backups. I put a tape in and the back
utility in XP says that there is no free medium on the tape. I set the
potions to overwrite existing backups on the tape.

I am unable to erase the tape or do anything with the tape. I have around a,
dozen tapes I used to be able to use for backups. Any idea what is wrong or
how to fix this?

 

[LVTravel]

Ron, I went onto HP's web site for information on this drive and they don't
have the model number you supplied listed. This drive may not be compatible
with Win XP. I had an HP DAT drive that was not and ended up throwing it in
the trash. You might do some research on HP's web site for information
since you have the drive in your possession. They do list different models
(SureStore, etc) but not the number you gave.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Ron

A URL that will take you to 148 Windows XP compatible tape drives..

http://windowsmarketplace.com/results.aspx?bCatId=591&SortBy=RATE&Order=D&dfw=1&page=1

 

[David Glass]

Ron

A URL that will take you to 148 Windows XP compatible tape drives..

http://windowsmarketplace.com/results.aspx?bCatId=591&SortBy=RATE&Order=D&dfw=1&page=1

A

client of mine is having the same problem, although their situation is
slightly different:

1. They've been using XP Pro for quite some time
2. They've not had any problems using Backup with their installed tape
drive (I don't know the model) until last week.

Now, they get the message about no free media when they've chosen
"New", or Backup is unable to locate the tape named 'blah blah blah'
even though that is the tape that is in the drive if they select a
specific tape from the dropdown.

I've tried to reformat (and erase) the tape, but when I go to the
'Restore' tab and right-click on the tape, the only option I'm given is
to delete the catalog from the system. Backup's help indicates I
should have options for formatting and erasing, but those aren't there.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

 

[David Glass]

Now, they get the message about no free media when they've chosen
"New", or Backup is unable to locate the tape named 'blah blah blah'
even though that is the tape that is in the drive if they select a
specific tape from the dropdown.

Just for the 'record', and Ron this may help you (you never know), in
my client's case the tape drive had been unplugged from the IDE cable.
Most likely by the tech* who replaced the hard drive immediately before
these backup problems surfaced.

* - not me, a competitor who apparently dropped the ball WRT being
responsive to this customer...