Explanation Three: This error can occur when the tape drive requires cleaning, usually indicated by a flashing light on the drive.

Resolution Three: Run a cleaning tape through the tape drive several times to eliminate the problem.

Explanation One: On Windows XP and 2003, this error message is misleading. It means that you have run out of tape space, and the backup has stopped.

Explanation Two: This error can occur for faulty tapes. Sometimes tapes may consistently show this error after backing up a fixed amount of data.

Resolution One: The most likely cause of this problem is that you have run out of tape space.

Resolution Two: Faulty tapes may cause this error so try changing the tape you are using to backup to see if the error is removed.

For more information on how to split up your backup jobs, please read this article: Splitting Backup Jobs

Media Failed To Mount

Example:

Backup started on 09/09/2004 at 3:00 PM.
The requested media failed to mount. The operation was aborted.
The operation was ended.
Backup completed on 09/09/2004 at 4:57 PM.
Directories: 3222
Files: 20345
Bytes: 20,168,431,751
Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 30 seconds

Explanation:

On Windows XP and 2003, this error message is misleading. It means that you have run out of tape space, and the backup has stopped.

Causes and Resolution:

The most likely cause of this problem is that you have run out of tape space.

To verify this is the case, look at your backup logs and add up the number of bytes backed up. This often adds up to the capacity of your tape drive.

Please note that Travan tape drives generally do not have hardware compression, so the amount of data they can store is their native capacity. For other tape drives, a 1.4:1 or 1.5:1 compression ratio is normal.

To resolve this problem, try reducing the amount of data you are backing up. You can try splitting your backup job into two separate jobs to fit on two tapes. Or you can choose to do a full weekly system backup to a removable hard drive, and do daily backups for your most important data that changes daily.