Removable Storage Cannot Get Media on HP LH 3000 with 4mm DAT Drive (269060)

SYMPTOMS

On a Hewlett-Packard LH 3000 computer with a 4mm 24i or 40i DAT device, Ntbackup.exe may return the following error message when you perform a manual backup:

There is no unused media with the selected type.
Add unused media or click cancel to select another type.
NOTE: It may take up to 60 seconds for Removable Storage to recognize new media.

There is no response even if you wait a long time. At the same time, if you click Inject in Removable Storage, the tape is ejected.

CAUSE

The 4mmdat.sys driver sends a SCSI Request Block (SRB) with a data length of 0x18, but the Aic78xx.sys driver returns a result with a length of 0x16 bytes. Therefore, 4mmdat.sys may return the status as TAPE_STATUS_REQUIRES_CLEANING, which prevents Removable Storage from getting the tape.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The typical support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date        Time   Version        Size    File name
   ----------------------------------------------------
   2000-10-11  14:39  5.0.2195.2469  10,928  4mmdat.sys

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

The behavior mentioned previously may be hardware related. In some cases, an update of the firmware on the drive is helpful. For example, for HP C1537A DAT tape, an upgrade of the firmware from F/W L708 to L005 seems to fix the behavior. For more information, please consult your vendor.

In some cases, reduction of the random access memory (RAM) usage in the Boot.ini is useful.

The following example shows a modified Boot.ini file that is using 128 MB of random access memory (RAM):

[operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 2000 Server" /maxmem=128

For additional information about the /maxmem switch, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

108393 MAXMEM Option in Windows NT BOOT.INI File

For additional information about the hardware model, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

269600 Hewlett-Packard SureStore Tape Drive May Not Work on Computers with Large Amounts of Memory