Troubleshooting Removable Storage
Problems with Removable Storage can be caused by either hardware or software. The information that is required for you to resolve either type of problem is contained in the following paragraphs.
Configuration
If you are having problems with Removable Storage configuring your devices, please consult the HCL to make sure your device is supported. If the device is supported, make sure you have configured it according to the guidelines that are listed in the HCL. Many changers support multiple operational configurations, but Removable Storage requires specific settings.Make sure that the hardware is configured correctly. If the device is attached to the host by means of a SCSI bus, ensure that the bus is configured correctly, with no SCSI ID collisions, with proper termination, in accordance with all cable length and SCSI controller parameters, and so on. Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) devices must be properly configured as master, slave, or stand-alone devices.If the hardware is configured properly, make sure that Windows 2000 has found the devices and has loaded the drivers for them. Make sure you see your changer under Media Changers in Device Manager and that you see any drives under Disk drives or Tape drives. If a driver is loaded, check the system Event Log to see if the driver encountered an error when it initialized the device.If all the devices are working properly but Removable Storage is still unable to configure them automatically, configure the devices manually.
Operation
If a work queue item is failing, check its property page for the reason for the failure.If your library is configured correctly, but it begins malfunctioning, check the system log. Look for Removable Storage messages and for changer, drive, and controller error messages. If these devices are experiencing errors, take appropriate actions to clear the errors, such as power cycling or resetting the device.Operations can begin failing when the system runs low on system resources, such as memory or disk space. Check the system Event Log to determine whether this is the case.If the devices and the system appear to be operating normally, try stopping and restarting Removable Storage.If known cartridges are always placed in the unrecognized pool when they are inserted, or if mount requests fail because of an OMID mismatch, the MLL might be missing or installed incorrectly. Information about MLLs is contained in the registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlNTMSOMIDTape.
CAUTIONThe folder %SystemRoot%System32 usually contains all media label library DLLs and is accessible only by administrators.
Do not use a registry editor to edit the registry directly unless you have no alternative. The registry editors bypass the standard safeguards provided by administrative tools. These safeguards prevent you from entering conflicting settings or settings that are likely to degrade performance or damage your system. Editing the registry directly can have serious, unexpected consequences that can prevent the system from starting and require that you reinstall Windows 2000. To configure or customize Windows 2000, use the programs in Control Panel or Microsoft Management Console (MMC) whenever possible.