Microsoft KB Archive/170522

= Old Firmware on Tape Drives Can Cause Tape Device Errors =

Article ID: 170522

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q170522



IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.



SYMPTOMS
You may experience one of the following problems with a tape device attached to a Windows NT computer:  An internal SCSI tape device works properly for three days, and then the following error message appears within the tape backup program:

The tape device has been detected and the tape driver started. However, the tape device is not responding.

After you restart your computer, the tape device works for another three days.

-or-

 The tape device does not consistently eject the cartridge. Attempting to eject the tape may cause the tape device to fail with the following error message:

Tape device reported error on request to get device status. Error reported: Hardware failure.





CAUSE
These problems may occur with tape devices that have outdated firmware.



RESOLUTION
Please contact the tape manufacturer for information on the availability of a firmware upgrade for your tape device. Perform one of the following procedures to view the version of your tape device's firmware:  SCSI device on Windows NT 4.0:  Click the Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and click SCSI Adapters. Click the Devices tab, click the plus sign (+) next to the SCSI controller that your tape device is connected to, click the device, and then click Properties.</li> Click the Settings tab to view the Firmware Revision.</li></ol> </li> SCSI device on Windows NT 3.5x:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. <ol>  Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and go to the following subkey:

<pre class="fixed_text">      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\SCSI\ScsiPort#\ScsiBus# \TargetID#\LogicalUnitId0\

where # is the Scsiport#, Bus#, and SCSI-ID# to which the tape device is attached. </li> Note the Identifier:REG_SZ:Tape vendor Model# firmware version.</li></ol> </li> IDE device on Windows NT 3.5x or 4.0:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. <ol>  Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and go to the following subkey:

<pre class="fixed_text">      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\AtDisk\Controller#\Disk#

where # is the LUN of the IDE Controller and the LUN of the device. </li> Note the FirmwareRevision:REG_SZ:Revision number.</li></ol> </li></ul>

For additional information, please see the following article or articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

140379 MainStream Exabyte Tape Drives Need Firmware Upgrade

Additional query words: backup

Keywords: kb3rdparty kbhowto kbsetup KB170522

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