Removable Storage Recognizes the Tape Drive but It Does Not Recognize Any Media in the Drive

When you use a tape library on a Windows 2000-based or a Windows XP-based computer, Removable Storage Manager (RSM) recognizes the tape drive but it does not recognize any media in the drive, even after you perform a full inventory. Because Removable Storage does not recognize the media, the media pools cannot be created under the free, the import, or the unrecognized system pools.

Note This problem typically occurs after the tape drive has been in operation for several weeks or months.

Because Removable Storage does not recognize the media in the drive, this problem prevents you from performing the following tasks:

• Preparing new media
• Reading a tape
• Writing to an existing tape
• Performing a full inventory

If you try to perform a backup, you receive the following error messages from Ntbackup:If you move the tape drive to another computer, the tape drive still does not work and you may also notice that Removable Storage media pools are not created under the free, import, or unrecognized system pools on the new computer.

This problem may occur if the tape drive is reporting a "dirty" status. When the tape drive reports this status, it also reports that the drive is empty. When Removable Storage performs a recheck of the On-Media Identifier (OMID) during an inventory, if the drive does not report itself as having media, you may not check to confirm that the tape drive is reporting itself as dirty.

Windows XP service pack information

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

Windows 2000 service pack information

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

Hotfix Information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. Note To view the version of these files, right-click the file in Windows Explorer, click Properties, and then click the Version tab.

Windows XP

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

To work around this problem, obtain a cleaning tape for the model of tape drive you that you are using and then follow the manufacturer instructions to clean the tape.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

Windows 2000

This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

Windows XP

This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

To confirm that you are experiencing the problem that is described in this article, watch the tape activity light on the tape drive and monitor the Removable Storage work queue while you perform a full inventory against the drive. To perform a full inventory:

1. Insert a tape into the tape drive and wait for the drive to become ready.
2. Start Removable Storage, and then click the tape library under Physical Locations.
3. Right-click the library, click Properties, change the inventory type from Fast to Full, and then click OK.
4. Right-click the library again, and then click Inventory.
   
   Removable Storage reads the OMID on the tape. If you look in the work queue, you notice that Removable Storage performs an inventory and an Identify Media operation.

If you notice that the inventory and the Identify Media operation finish very quickly and if the activity light on the tape drive never flashes, you are probably experiencing the problem that is described in this article.

For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about how to install multiple hotfixes with only one reboot, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: