Old Firmware on Tape Drives Can Cause Tape Device Errors

Last reviewed: October 13, 1997
Article ID: Q170522

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0

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These problems may occur with tape devices that have outdated firmware.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:
1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and
```
      click SCSI Adapters.
```
2. 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.
```
3. Click the Settings tab to view the Firmware Revision.
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.
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and go to the following subkey:
```
       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.
```
2. Note the Identifier:REG_SZ:Tape vendor Model# firmware version.
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.
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and go to the following subkey:
```
       HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\AtDisk\Controller#\Disk#
```
```
      where # is the LUN of the IDE Controller and the LUN of the device.
```
2. Note the FirmwareRevision:REG_SZ:Revision number.

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

   ARTICLE-ID: Q140379
   TITLE     : MainStream Exabyte Tape Drives Need Firmware Upgrade

Additional query word: backup

Keywords          : kbhowto ntsetup NTSrvWkst kb3rdparty kbsetup
Version           : WinNT:3.5,3.51,4.0
Platform          : winnt

================================================================================

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Last reviewed: October 13, 1997
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