issues with ide-tape under 2.4.x and with 2.2.x+ide patches

(originally posted to linux-tape@vger, but i figure more people read this list <grin>)

Hi

Hoping someone can help. I'm running Debian 2.2, tar (GNU tar) 1.13.17. Hardware is a celeron 300, Abit BH6, but repeats itself on all hardware i've tested(old dataexpert 8551/8661's, abit be6, some via686a box at home, gigabyte mb's, you name it)

I'm currently running 2.4.0test10, running backups onto an IDE HP 7/14 gb drive. Using tar -cpvf /dev/ht0 myfiles backs up fine, no errors.

But..

promise:~# tar -tf /dev/ht0
tar: /dev/ht0: Cannot read: Input/output error
tar: At beginning of tape, quitting now
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now

and from dmesg:
ide-tape: ht0: I/O error, pc = 1e, key = 5, asc = 20, ascq = 0
ide-tape: ht0: I/O error, pc = 8, key = 5, asc = 2c, ascq = 0
ide-tape: ht0: I/O error, pc = 1e, key = 5, asc = 20, ascq = 0

(normal, i get those cause of the lock drive/unlock drive, which the drive doesn't support)

If i bounce back to 2.2.17(18-18 as well), and do the exact same command, I can read my tapes again. But I lose support for the Promise Ultra/66 in the machine. So. I go back to 2.2.17, put in the ide patches. I can't read my tapes again. Take out the patches. Tapes restore fine. So I'm wondering what changed with Andre's patches, and also with 2.4.x?

I also ran into the same issues, back when i was playing with 2.2.17, using taper 6.9b, leading me to suspect it's not tar's fault. Just tried dump, aside from it not agreeing with my /dev/md0 device, it backs up fine, can't restore.

I get the same results with a Seagate IDE 10/20 drive.

ide-tape is compiled as a module, but IIRC it does the same behaviour as built in.

Yes, the proper solution is buy a DDS-3 drive and a handful of tapes. But my cheap employer doesn't want to spend the money to do it right.

Hoping for a solution,
Mike Dresser

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Interesting, and this is test10? I submitted a patch for test10 to not attempt prevent-removal commands in the ide-tape drives that do not support it. If this is indeed test10, that would mean that the HP drive misreports that capability. It'd be nice to know.

* Jens Axboe <[email protected]>
* SuSE Labs
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(forgot to CC: this to the list when i replied to Jens, and decided to add another paragraph)

I just tried my Seagate drive, and i can read my tapes in it. If i swap over to the HP, i can't read the tapes. I'll look today, whether the Seagate replies with a bunch of those I/O Errors. It's not like i'm doing anything but working on making this damn tape drive work =)

Considering the HP 7/14 gig format is already a proprietory format(<sarcasm> THANKS HP! </sarcasm>), it wouldn't surprise me if something else is non standard. It's weird that i can read 7/14 gig tapes in the 10/20 Seagate though. Nice of Seagate to include support for someone else's mistake =)

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Confirmed.

promise:~/crap# uname -a
Linux promise 2.4.0-test10 #4 Mon Oct 30 17:16:16 EST 2000 i686 unknown

And i think my clock chip is drifting, it's actually the 6th of November. =)

Anyways...... Spent 15 minutes trying to figure out why it couldn't read the tape, and kept giving me the errors. Then i remembered the whole point of this bug-report WAS about it not reading tapes. It's Monday morning, but my brain is still out there in the wild blue yonder. :)

I'm interested in why the HP drive won't read tapes, but if i swap in my Seagate, it reads them just fine. Well, aside from media errors. Seems HP can't build a tape drive OR tape media that is reliable =)

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