Knowledge Base

Scheduled Backups Fail on Standalone Tape Drives After Changing Media

Article ID: 267574

Article Last Modified on 2/20/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition

This article was previously published under Q267574

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you schedule a Windows 2000 unattended backup by using a standalone tape drive (library), the first backup job completes successfully. However, after you change the media, the next scheduled backup job does not back up the desired folder and files. Also, you may receive one of the following error messages in the backup report log file:

The operation was not performed because no unused media was available.

-or-

Operation was not performed, because the specified media cannot be found.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if Removable Storage Manager (RSM) is not notified when the media on the standalone tape drive (library) is manually changed. Removable Storage Manager does not poll standalone libraries looking for media changes, and it is the responsibility of the RSM aware program to request that RSM detects if the media changed on standalone libraries. When this problem occurs, RSM updates the tape drives media contents in the RSM database. Usually, when Windows backup is running interactively, it requests that RSM polls the tape drive(s) periodically looking for media changes. When backup is not running, there is no mechanism to request RSM to detect media changes. Backup is unable to issue a mount of the new tape because RSM is not aware that the new tape exists, resulting in a backup job failure.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date        Time     Version        Size       File name
   -----------------------------------------------------------
   10/24/2000  6:20 PM  5.0.2195.2103  1,162,512  Ntbackup.exe

See the following Knowledge Base Article for more information on this hotfix:

277701 Ntbackup Cannot Restore from Backup Sets Located on Second Tape

To work around this problem, use one or more of the following methods incrementally until you are able to perform reliable unattended backups. Note that some tape drives require methods 1 and 2 before reliable backups can be performed.

Method 1

Leave a copy of the backup program running in the background. Backup should poll the tape drive periodically looking for media changes, and should help media changes be recognized prior to the real scheduled backup job running. You can use the Srvinstw.exe Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit program to install the Srvany.exe tool, and then permit Ntbackup.exe to run as a service hidden from view.

Install the Srvany.exe Tool as a Service

Copy the Srvany.exe tool included in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder on your computer.
Start the Srvinstw.exe program.
Click Install a service, and then click Next.
Click Local Machine, and then click Next.
Type srvany under Service name, and then click Next.
Locate the %SystemRoot%\System32\Srvany.exe file, double-click the file name, and then click Next.
Click Service in it's own process, and then click Next.
Click System Account, and then click Next.
Click Automatic, and then click Next.
Click Finish.

Configure the Srvany Service to Run Ntbackup.exe as a Service

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) to view the following key in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SRVANY
On the Edit menu, click Add Key..., type Parameters for the key name, and then click OK.
Click to select the Parameters key, and then click Add Value under the Edit menu. Enter Application for the value name, and use a data type of REG_SZ.

NOTE: Make sure you specify the full path to the NTBackup.exe file. Srvany.exe does not load the program if you use the %SystemRoot% variable in the path. For example:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SRVANY Application: REG_SZ: C:\Winnt\System32\Ntbackup.exe
Quit Regedt32.exe.
After you shutdown and then restart your computer, backup starts as a background service. Ntbackup.exe should be running and be visible in Task Manager under the Processes tab, and permits backup to poll tapes looking for media changes.

Method 2

Schedule the backup using a Backup.cmd file. You can copy the contents of the scheduled tasks RUN field and then paste them into the batch file. You can use the Rsm.exe refresh command to help recognize changed media. This can be added to the beginning of the backup batch file:

[backup.cmd]
start /wait rsm.exe refresh /lf"library_name"

<Backup commands for unattended backup copied from scheduled task.....append the /um switch if desired.>

NOTE: Run the rsm view /tlibrary command to extract the "library_name" to be used with the previously listed command.

Method 3

Schedule a Backup.cmd batch file containing a short (one folder\file) backup job, followed by a regular full backup. The first (short) backup will fail because no media is recognized in the tape library, however, the next backup should run because the tape library is refreshed by the first failed backup attempt to find usable media.

Method 4

Use the RSM GUI (Ntmsmgr.msc) to manually perform a Full inventory on the tape library after changing tapes and before the next backup job starts.

NOTE: If you use the Ntbackup /um switch, it is recommended that you not use the /n switch to label the media. Instead, permit backup to use the default date/time as the label name and description. This eliminates multiple tapes having the same label name which may cause RSM to request a manual tape mount and prevent backup from continuing or completing in unattended mode.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows 2000 Service Pack 2.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to install Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 hotfixes at the same time, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

249149 Installing Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Hotfixes

Additional related Knowledge Base Articles:

264604 Scheduled backup jobs may not run as expected

243260 Changed Parameters for Scheduled Backup Job May Not Be Saved

Additional query words: win2000hotperf

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbbackup kbbug kbfix kbwin2000presp2fix KB267574

Microsoft KB Archive/267574

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