xfsdump: WARNING: unable to backspace tape: assuming media error

["Ngan, Michael (NCI)" <nganm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I am try to setup a IBM LTO Ultrium-td1 tape with a SGI Orign 2000 running
IRIX 6.5.9. I encounter this error message when I tried to do test dump

xfsdump: WARNING: unable to backspace tape: assuming media error

What is the problem? Is there are fix to this? The tar command works.

thanks,

Mike Ngan
National Cancer Institute
301-402-0324

root@msb:/hw/tape> xfsdump -f /dev/nrtape -L "Test" -M "Tape" /
xfsdump: version 3.0 - type ^C for status and control
xfsdump: WARNING: most recent level 0 dump was interrupted, but not resuming
tha
t dump since resume (-R) option not specified
xfsdump: level 0 dump of msb:/
xfsdump: dump date: Fri Oct 19 12:34:48 2001
xfsdump: session id: 0476787b-5909-1025-879a-0800690d46f5
xfsdump: session label: "Test"
xfsdump: ino map phase 1: skipping (no subtrees specified)
xfsdump: ino map phase 2: constructing initial dump list
xfsdump: ino map phase 3: skipping (no pruning necessary)
xfsdump: ino map phase 4: skipping (size estimated in phase 2)
xfsdump: ino map phase 5: skipping (only one dump stream)
xfsdump: ino map construction complete
xfsdump: estimated dump size: 5721094016 bytes
xfsdump: preparing drive
xfsdump: WARNING: unable to backspace tape: assuming media error

 ============================ change media dialog
=============================

please change media in drive 0
1: media change declined (timeout in 3600 sec)
2: media changed (default)
 ->

Here is some more info:

root@msb:/hw/tape> hinv
4 250 MHZ IP27 Processors
CPU: MIPS R10000 Processor Chip Revision: 3.4
FPU: MIPS R10010 Floating Point Chip Revision: 0.0
Main memory size: 4608 Mbytes
Instruction cache size: 32 Kbytes
Data cache size: 32 Kbytes
Secondary unified instruction/data cache size: 4 Mbytes
Integral SCSI controller 0: Version QL1040B (rev. 2), single ended
  Disk drive: unit 1 on SCSI controller 0
  Disk drive: unit 2 on SCSI controller 0
  Disk drive: unit 3 on SCSI controller 0
  Disk drive: unit 4 on SCSI controller 0
  Disk drive: unit 5 on SCSI controller 0
  CDROM: unit 6 on SCSI controller 0
Integral SCSI controller 1: Version QL1040B (rev. 2), single ended
  Tape drive: unit 3 on SCSI controller 1: unknown
IOC3 serial port: tty1
IOC3 serial port: tty2
Integral Fast Ethernet: ef0, version 1, module 1, slot io1, pci 2
Origin BASEIO board, module 1 slot 1: Revision 4
IOC3 external interrupts: 1

root@msb:/hw/tape> mt -f /dev/mt/tps1d3nr status
        Controller: SCSI
        Device: IBM: ULTRIUM-TD1     1550
        Status: 0x24260
        Drive type: unknown
        Media : READY, writable, at EOD, block 3