Err Msg: Fatal Error on Drive 1...During Tape Back Up

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SYMPTOMS

The following error message may appear when you are using the Windows NT Backup program:

   Fatal Error on Drive 1

CAUSE

There are several possible causes of this error message:

Bad Media

Bad Media problems can be caused by the following:

• Placing the incorrect media type/size in the drive. (It is physically possible to put a 525 megabyte (MB) piece of media in a 250 MB tape drive.) Verify that you are using the correct media size for your hardware.
• Removing the tape from the drive while the tape is in motion could result in the occurrence of the error message when you use the tape at a later time.
• Other external conditions, such as magnets, heat, and general usage.

SCSI Bus Reset

SCSI bus reset can occur when:

• The drive is connected by a poor SCSI cable.
• There are power fluctuations. Tape drives are very susceptible to power fluctuations that will show up as resets.
• Another device on the same controller time-outs. This causes the SCSI mini-port driver to reset the bus.

SCSI Bus Time-outs

SCSI bus time-outs occur because:

• The time-out values are derived by trial and error. Because of this, many times error conditions can cause time-outs. This can happen with media errors on some drives.
• The drive did not respond due to the connection to the drive having been broken.

Incompatible SCSI Command

An incompatible SCSI command can occur when:

• The firmware for the drive is not the firmware the driver is designed for.

  To check the exact firmware, use Registry Editor to go into the registry and note the InquiryData value under the following key:

  WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-

        wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct
        them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the
        use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.
  

        Hkey_local_machine\Hardware\DeviceMap\Scsi\ScsiPortx\ScsiBusx\
        TargetIdx\LogicalUnitIdx
  

  where x = the number appropriate for the device. For example, you may see the following for the Hewlett-Packard (HP) JetStor 5000:

        Identifier: REG_SZ: HP 35480A 1009