Final error: 0xe00084ca – The data being read from the media is inconsistent.

In Backup Exec will at time have issues with tape drives. Data inconsistency can be due to a couple of reasons:

  1. Bad media.
  2. Bad tape drive

Tape drives are not inexpensive so the best place to start an analysis is with the tapes. Here are a couple aspects to consider with tapes:

  1. Does the data inconsistency occur with all tapes or just one? If just one take a look at the Media section of Backup Exec to see if the tape is listed as having an “end of marker” error. If that is the case try a quick erase on the tape to remove any bad headers, then try to run the backup again using the tape. If it fails again replace the tape provided the job is only failing with that specific tape.
  2. If the data inconsistency is occurring with all the tapes first try to run a known good cleaning tape. If that does not work it is time to look at the hardware.
  3. In Backup Exec select Devices, right click on the tape drive and select properties. Select the Configurations tab and ensure “Write single block mode” and “Write SCSI pass-through mode” are selected and click OK.
  4. Reinstall the actual tape drive drivers, restart the server, and install the Symantec drivers.
  5. Rename the tape drive to its original name by creating a temporary Backup-to-Disk folder, assigning the backup jobs to the folder, delete the tape device, restart Backup Exec so the device is rediscovered and assigned a tape drive name.

If nothing else works then you need to look at the hardware. The following will require the server to be powered down, unplugged, and using a grounding strap.

  1. If the tape drive is SCSI, power down the server and tape drive, unplug both units power cables, power up the SCSI tape drive, then power up the server. The server should re-initialize the device.
  2. Try to reseat the hardware by unplugging and plugging in the ribbon and power cable on the tape drive. Power up the server and see if that resolved the issue.
  3. Replace the tape drive. Replacing the tape drive means replacing the ribbon cables and controller card and not just the tape drive. Consider that a data inconsistency during the verification phase of the backup is caused by an issue with the Backup Exec software re-reading the data from the tape. The tape drive is connected to the system board via the ribbon cable and controller card, so just replacing the tape drive will not resolve the issue.

Hope that helps getting you started with good tape backups.

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