beauchem@terre.DMI.USherb.CA (Denis Beauchemin) (11/14/90)
Hi everybody, We are plaged by a "I/O Error on write(), errno 5, I/O Error" message almost every time we use our 120 MB tape drives (we have 3 on different 6386 systems). Could someone tell me what is the cause of these errors? I know it's related to hardware, but changing the tape drive or the media doesn't make it go away. We can't do reliable backups because of that! Help! (and AT&T isn't very helpful either) Please answer by email since I cannot keep up with this list... ===================================================== === Denis Beauchemin, === beauchem@DMI.USherb.CA === === Dir. R&D ============================== === Sisca Informatique === I speak for myself... === === (819) 564-4003. ============================== =====================================================
john@banzai.PCC.COM (John Canning) (11/14/90)
In article <1990Nov13.195548.17967@DMI.USherb.CA> beauchem@terre.DMI.USherb.CA (Denis Beauchemin) writes: >Hi everybody, > >We are plaged by a "I/O Error on write(), errno 5, I/O Error" message almost >every time we use our 120 MB tape drives (we have 3 on different 6386 systems). >Could someone tell me what is the cause of these errors? > >I know it's related to hardware, but changing the tape drive or the media >doesn't make it go away. We can't do reliable backups because of that! Help! >(and AT&T isn't very helpful either) > >Please answer by email since I cannot keep up with this list... Here's an answer for the rest of the net (just in case): We have had similar errors on machines all over the place. This summer, AT&T announced (very quietly) that the only recommended tape for the 6386 125MB tape drive is the DC-6150. Other tapes (such as the DC-600A, which used to be recommended), have turned out not to work reliably. AT&T recommends replacing a tape after 30 complete read/writes. They also recommend cleaning the tape heads weekly, and especially after using a brand new tape. We have found that once you get an I/O error #5, you must either reboot the system, or issue the command tapectl -r. Both actions appear to reset the tape drive, which seems like a necessary step. Now, if only AT&T would add this information to their user's manual... John Canning ...uunet!uvm-gen!banzai!john The People's Computer Company ...attmail!banzai!john Williston, Vermont john@banzai.pcc.com 802-864-0747
dennis@nebulus.ampr.org (Dennis S. Breckenridge) (11/16/90)
john@banzai.PCC.COM (John Canning) writes: >In article <1990Nov13.195548.17967@DMI.USherb.CA> beauchem@terre.DMI.USherb.CA (Denis Beauchemin) writes: >>We are plaged by a "I/O Error on write(), errno 5, I/O Error" message almost >>every time we use our 120 MB tape drives (we have 3 on different 6386 systems). >We have found that once you get an I/O error #5, you must either >reboot the system, or issue the command tapectl -r. Both actions >appear to reset the tape drive, which seems like a necessary step. This is not the only thing they are "quiet" about. As far as I understand they have upgraded the Driver source to eliminate the hanging and Beta tested a new rom for the controller. I don't know if they ever released the rom but as far as I understand the new driver is version 2.1. I use both fixes here and I still hang during a backup but not near as often. I suspect both fixes are acurate! -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dennis S. Breckenridge VE7TCP [44.135.160.59] dennis@nebulus EMACS: Twelve Megabytes And Constantly Swapping! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------