[hercules-390] Help! SCSI Tape Drive "Fault 3A00"

['\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

Help!

Can anyone tell me what Fault code 3A00 means for a SCSI tape drive?

It MAY be specific to just this particular manufacturer/model (Overland L490E), -or- it may not.

I tried Googling and the only hits I could find mentioned SCSI ASC/ASCQ code 3A00 as meaning Drive Not Ready, Medium Not Present, which seems logical but has me concerned.

It occurs whenever I press the front panel "Load/Unload" button to try and manually load any one of the drive's 10 slots.

The drive pulls the cartridge out of the slot and, I'm presuming, moves it to the tape drive and then tries to load it. (Once it sucks it out of the slot and disappears, I can no longer see what it's trying to do.)

I don't have a computer system I can connect this beast to, so I'm doing this testing without it being physically connected to anything. I'm wondering if that might be the reason for the "fault" code. I tried connecting a terminator and that didn't help. I then tried connecting the SCSI cable too, but that didn't help either. Finally, I tried connecting the other end of the SCSI cable to the SCSI adapter card (hoping that maybe the adapter card had a built-in terminator feature), but that didn't help either since, I'm guessing, the card wasn't plugged into any powered on computer bus.

So I'm now worried that the drive itself might be bad.

Or perhaps all 10 cartridges?

The unit has been sitting here, unused, for many years now, and I'm worried that either the tape drive itself it gummed up (dirty and in need of cleaning), or that the cartridges themselves are. Do tape drives and/or cartridges have a shelf life? Do they go "bad" after a few years if they're not used?

A good friend has expressed interest in the drive but I'm understandably reluctant to ship it to him if I know for a fact that it's broken and doesn't work (although he may want it anyway; he may be able to get it fixed easier than I can).

Can anybody help me out? Is there anyone out there with SCSI tape drive experience (particularly this specific model if possible!) that can tell me whether or not fault code 3A00 means: a) the drive truly is bad and needs repaired, or b) it simply needs to be connected to a powered on computer?

Thanks!

[Mike Schwab [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

http://sunstarco.com/legacy-td/3480-2/l490e/
claims simple screwdrivers are all that are needed for repairs.

http://support.bull.com/ols/product/storage/lib/overland/l490e
seems to have the manuals but requires id and password.

On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 1:53 PM, ''Fish' (David B. Trout)'

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Help!
Can anyone tell me what Fault code 3A00 means for a SCSI tape drive?
It MAY be specific to just this particular manufacturer/model (Overland L490E), -or- it may not.
I tried Googling and the only hits I could find mentioned SCSI ASC/ASCQ code 3A00 as meaning Drive Not Ready, Medium Not Present, which seems logical but has me concerned.
It occurs whenever I press the front panel "Load/Unload" button to try and manually load any one of the drive's 10 slots.
The drive pulls the cartridge out of the slot and, I'm presuming, moves it to the tape drive and then tries to load it. (Once it sucks it out of the slot and disappears, I can no longer see what it's trying to do.)
I don't have a computer system I can connect this beast to, so I'm doing this testing without it being physically connected to anything. I'm wondering if that might be the reason for the "fault" code. I tried connecting a terminator and that didn't help. I then tried connecting the SCSI cable too, but that didn't help either. Finally, I tried connecting the other end of the SCSI cable to the SCSI adapter card (hoping that maybe the adapter card had a built-in terminator feature), but that didn't help either since, I'm guessing, the card wasn't plugged into any powered on computer bus.
So I'm now worried that the drive itself might be bad.
Or perhaps all 10 cartridges?
The unit has been sitting here, unused, for many years now, and I'm worried that either the tape drive itself it gummed up (dirty and in need of cleaning), or that the cartridges themselves are. Do tape drives and/or cartridges have a shelf life? Do they go "bad" after a few years if they're not used?
A good friend has expressed interest in the drive but I'm understandably reluctant to ship it to him if I know for a fact that it's broken and doesn't work (although he may want it anyway; he may be able to get it fixed easier than I can).
Can anybody help me out? Is there anyone out there with SCSI tape drive experience (particularly this specific model if possible!) that can tell me whether or not fault code 3A00 means: a) the drive truly is bad and needs repaired, or b) it simply needs to be connected to a powered on computer?
Thanks!
--
"Fish" (David B. Trout)
Software Development Laboratories
http://www.softdevlabs.com
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hercules-390
http://www.hercules-390.org
------------------------------------
Yahoo Groups Links

['\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

Mike Schwab wrote:

[...]

Post by Mike Schwab ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
http://support.bull.com/ols/product/storage/lib/overland/l490e
seems to have the manuals but requires id and password.

Thanks Mike!

I tried registering but it wouldn't let me. Kept coming up with some type of error.

I filled out their "Contact Us" web form explaining who I was and what I needed and why.

Does anyone else have an account at Bull?


(I think it might be the cartridges. When it fails and the fault light lights up and fault code appears, it also says to remove the cartridge and won't try the next one until I do.)
--
"Fish" (David B. Trout)
Software Development Laboratories
http://www.softdevlabs.com

Post by Mike Schwab ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2017 5:36 PM
Subject: Re: [hercules-390] Help! SCSI Tape Drive "Fault 3A00"
Importance: High
http://sunstarco.com/legacy-td/3480-2/l490e/
claims simple screwdrivers are all that are needed for repairs.
http://support.bull.com/ols/product/storage/lib/overland/l490e
seems to have the manuals but requires id and password.
On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 1:53 PM, ''Fish' (David B. Trout)'

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Help!
Can anyone tell me what Fault code 3A00 means for a SCSI tape drive?
It MAY be specific to just this particular manufacturer/model

(Overland L490E), -or- it may not.

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
I tried Googling and the only hits I could find mentioned SCSI

ASC/ASCQ code 3A00 as meaning Drive Not Ready, Medium Not Present,
which seems logical but has me concerned.

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
It occurs whenever I press the front panel "Load/Unload" button to

try and manually load any one of the drive's 10 slots.

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
The drive pulls the cartridge out of the slot and, I'm presuming,

moves it to the tape drive and then tries to load it. (Once it sucks it
out of the slot and disappears, I can no longer see what it's trying to
do.)

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
I don't have a computer system I can connect this beast to, so I'm

doing this testing without it being physically connected to anything.
I'm wondering if that might be the reason for the "fault" code. I tried
connecting a terminator and that didn't help. I then tried connecting
the SCSI cable too, but that didn't help either. Finally, I tried
connecting the other end of the SCSI cable to the SCSI adapter card
(hoping that maybe the adapter card had a built-in terminator feature),
but that didn't help either since, I'm guessing, the card wasn't
plugged into any powered on computer bus.

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
So I'm now worried that the drive itself might be bad.
Or perhaps all 10 cartridges?
The unit has been sitting here, unused, for many years now, and I'm

worried that either the tape drive itself it gummed up (dirty and in
need of cleaning), or that the cartridges themselves are. Do tape
drives and/or cartridges have a shelf life? Do they go "bad" after a
few years if they're not used?

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
A good friend has expressed interest in the drive but I'm

understandably reluctant to ship it to him if I know for a fact that
it's broken and doesn't work (although he may want it anyway; he may be
able to get it fixed easier than I can).

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Can anybody help me out? Is there anyone out there with SCSI tape

drive experience (particularly this specific model if possible!) that
can tell me whether or not fault code 3A00 means: a) the drive truly is
bad and needs repaired, or b) it simply needs to be connected to a
powered on computer?

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Thanks!
--
"Fish" (David B. Trout)
Software Development Laboratories
http://www.softdevlabs.com

[Vince Coen [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

From previous experience of cart tape drives :

Have you tried loading a cleaning tape and let it do through the clean
cycle?

Or does it report the same thing?

Another possibility is that scsi termination is not correctly set on the
drive unit for what you have the cable connected to or not.

Termination is IMPORTANT.

Vince

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Help!
Can anyone tell me what Fault code 3A00 means for a SCSI tape drive?
It MAY be specific to just this particular manufacturer/model
(Overland L490E), -or- it may not.
I tried Googling and the only hits I could find mentioned SCSI
ASC/ASCQ code 3A00 as meaning Drive Not Ready, Medium Not Present,
which seems logical but has me concerned.
It occurs whenever I press the front panel "Load/Unload" button to try
and manually load any one of the drive's 10 slots.
The drive pulls the cartridge out of the slot and, I'm presuming,
moves it to the tape drive and then tries to load it. (Once it sucks
it out of the slot and disappears, I can no longer see what it's
trying to do.)
I don't have a computer system I can connect this beast to, so I'm
doing this testing without it being physically connected to anything.
I'm wondering if that might be the reason for the "fault" code. I
tried connecting a terminator and that didn't help. I then tried
connecting the SCSI cable too, but that didn't help either. Finally, I
tried connecting the other end of the SCSI cable to the SCSI adapter
card (hoping that maybe the adapter card had a built-in terminator
feature), but that didn't help either since, I'm guessing, the card
wasn't plugged into any powered on computer bus.
So I'm now worried that the drive itself might be bad.
Or perhaps all 10 cartridges?
The unit has been sitting here, unused, for many years now, and I'm
worried that either the tape drive itself it gummed up (dirty and in
need of cleaning), or that the cartridges themselves are. Do tape
drives and/or cartridges have a shelf life? Do they go "bad" after a
few years if they're not used?
A good friend has expressed interest in the drive but I'm
understandably reluctant to ship it to him if I know for a fact that
it's broken and doesn't work (although he may want it anyway; he may
be able to get it fixed easier than I can).
Can anybody help me out? Is there anyone out there with SCSI tape
drive experience (particularly this specific model if possible!) that
can tell me whether or not fault code 3A00 means: a) the drive truly
is bad and needs repaired, or b) it simply needs to be connected to a
powered on computer?
Thanks!
--
"Fish" (David B. Trout)
Software Development Laboratories
http://www.softdevlabs.com

------------------------------------

------------------------------------

Community email addresses:
Post message: hercules-***@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: hercules-390-***@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: hercules-390-***@yahoogroups.com
List owner: hercules-390-***@yahoogroups.com

Files and archives at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hercules-390

Get the latest version of Hercules from:
http://www.hercules-390.org


------------------------------------

Yahoo Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hercules-390/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hercules-390/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
hercules-390-***@yahoogroups.com
hercules-390-***@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
hercules-390-***@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo Groups is subject to:
https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/

[Joe Monk [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

Chances are the 3A00 means that there is nothing there to drive the robot
to tell it what to do. Its not getting any commands via the SCSI bus.

Joe

Post by Vince Coen ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Have you tried loading a cleaning tape and let it do through the clean
cycle?
Or does it report the same thing?
Another possibility is that scsi termination is not correctly set on the
drive unit for what you have the cable connected to or not.
Termination is IMPORTANT.
Vince

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Help!
Can anyone tell me what Fault code 3A00 means for a SCSI tape drive?
It MAY be specific to just this particular manufacturer/model
(Overland L490E), -or- it may not.
I tried Googling and the only hits I could find mentioned SCSI
ASC/ASCQ code 3A00 as meaning Drive Not Ready, Medium Not Present,
which seems logical but has me concerned.
It occurs whenever I press the front panel "Load/Unload" button to try
and manually load any one of the drive's 10 slots.
The drive pulls the cartridge out of the slot and, I'm presuming,
moves it to the tape drive and then tries to load it. (Once it sucks
it out of the slot and disappears, I can no longer see what it's
trying to do.)
I don't have a computer system I can connect this beast to, so I'm
doing this testing without it being physically connected to anything.
I'm wondering if that might be the reason for the "fault" code. I
tried connecting a terminator and that didn't help. I then tried
connecting the SCSI cable too, but that didn't help either. Finally, I
tried connecting the other end of the SCSI cable to the SCSI adapter
card (hoping that maybe the adapter card had a built-in terminator
feature), but that didn't help either since, I'm guessing, the card
wasn't plugged into any powered on computer bus.
So I'm now worried that the drive itself might be bad.
Or perhaps all 10 cartridges?
The unit has been sitting here, unused, for many years now, and I'm
worried that either the tape drive itself it gummed up (dirty and in
need of cleaning), or that the cartridges themselves are. Do tape
drives and/or cartridges have a shelf life? Do they go "bad" after a
few years if they're not used?
A good friend has expressed interest in the drive but I'm
understandably reluctant to ship it to him if I know for a fact that
it's broken and doesn't work (although he may want it anyway; he may
be able to get it fixed easier than I can).
Can anybody help me out? Is there anyone out there with SCSI tape
drive experience (particularly this specific model if possible!) that
can tell me whether or not fault code 3A00 means: a) the drive truly
is bad and needs repaired, or b) it simply needs to be connected to a
powered on computer?
Thanks!
--
"Fish" (David B. Trout)
Software Development Laboratories
http://www.softdevlabs.com

------------------------------------
------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hercules-390
http://www.hercules-390.org
------------------------------------
Yahoo Groups Links

['\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

Post by Joe Monk ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Chances are the 3A00 means that there is nothing there
to drive the robot to tell it what to do. It's not getting
any commands via the SCSI bus.

That's what I'm *hoping*, yes.

But I don't recall it ever behaving that way before, which is why I'm worried. If I can trust my aging memory, back when I was actively playing with this thing (years ago) I would turn the tape drive on first and let it go through its self test power-on procedure (which takes a couple (2? 3?) minutes) and *then* power on my computer (so the drive would be ready to respond to Windows during the reboot), and I don't recall it ever displaying this fault.

It also worked the other way around too: booting Windows first, and then once Windows was ready, turn on the tape drive. That would work okay too (although I seem to recall having to ask Windows to re-scan for device changes before it would show up in Windows's device tree).

But I don't recall it ever displaying a fault code like it is now, which is what has me worried.

[Vince Coen [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

In my previous post I did 'assume' that you had the correct SCSI driver
loaded along with any others needed for the tape robot / cartridge set.

If not an possible reason. Sorry I have nothing to look it up against as
I sold off my last unit 2 - 3 years ago on eBay where I got an absolute
fortune.


NOT.

10 pounds maybe and that was with a big pack of tapes.

More trouble than it was worth :(

Vince

Post by '\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]

Post by Joe Monk ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Chances are the 3A00 means that there is nothing there
to drive the robot to tell it what to do. It's not getting
any commands via the SCSI bus.

That's what I'm *hoping*, yes.
But I don't recall it ever behaving that way before, which is why I'm
worried. If I can trust my aging memory, back when I was actively
playing with this thing (years ago) I would turn the tape drive on
first and let it go through its self test power-on procedure (which
takes a couple (2? 3?) minutes) and *then* power on my computer (so
the drive would be ready to respond to Windows during the reboot), and
I don't recall it ever displaying this fault.
It also worked the other way around too: booting Windows first, and
then once Windows was ready, turn on the tape drive. That would work
okay too (although I seem to recall having to ask Windows to re-scan
for device changes before it would show up in Windows's device tree).
But I don't recall it ever displaying a fault code like it is now,
which is what has me worried.

['\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

['\'Fish\' (David B. Trout)' [e-mail] [hercules-390]]

Post by Vince Coen ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Have you tried loading a cleaning tape and let it
go through the clean cycle?
Or does it report the same thing?

Unfortunately I don't have a cleaning cartridge to try or I would. :(

I used to have one (as well as a whole box of brand new cartridges someone bought me a long time (years) ago when I was first working on Hercules SCSI tape support for Windows), but I seem to have misplaced it. :(

Post by Vince Coen ***@gmail.com [hercules-390]
Another possibility is that scsi termination
is not correctly set on the drive unit
for what you have the cable connected to or not.
Termination is IMPORTANT.

Yes, That's what I'm HOPING is the problem. But when the fault occurs is says to remove the cartridge which is what has me worried.

You would think the drive would at least *load* the tape and them simply say "Not Ready" because there's nothing for it to talk to (which I believe is what it used to do when I originally had it hooked up to my old computer), but that's not what it's doing. It's saying to remove the cartridge, as if there's something about the cartridge itself that it doesn't like.

I tried the first 6 of the 10 slots (all 10 slots are populated with what used to be brand new cartridges) but gave up after the 6th failure. That's when I tried connecting the cables but that didn't work either. :(

Oh well. I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best I guess. <shrug>

Thanks.