MTX Frequently Asked Questions
Operational Issues
Links:
Compatibility
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Q: I'm using Red Hat 7.0 and mtx works fine when I type ./mtx from the command line, but when I use it from scripts I get the following:
mtx: Request Sense: Error Code=70 (Current)
mtx: Request Sense: Sense Key=Aborted Command
mtx: Request Sense: Additional Sense Code = 4E
mtx: Request Sense: Additional Sense Qualifier = 00
What's happening?A: Do "rpm -e mtx". Red Hat 7.0 includes a busted version of mtx. Your script is apparently picking up the busted mtx in your path. Get rid of the busted mtx, make sure that /usr/local/bin (or wherever you put the "good" mtx) is in the path, and all should be well. -
Q: I get
# mtx -f /dev/sgr status
mtx: Request Sense: Error Code=70 (Current)
mtx: Request Sense: Sense Key=Not Ready
mtx: Request Sense: Additional Sense Code = 04
mtx: Request Sense: Additional Sense Qualifier = 8E
mtx: READ ELEMENT STATUS Command Failed
What gives?A: Make sure your loader is in random mode, not sequential mode. Most "real" loaders (as vs. DAT autoloaders) will not properly report status information unless they are in "random" mode. -
Q: I issue 'mtx load 5' and it loads tape 5. But when I try to put the tape back in the magazine, we hit problems:
mtx: MOVE MEDIUM from Element Address 82 to 5 Failed
What gives?A: Many loaders require you to first eject the tape (using 'mt' or 'tapectl') before you issue an 'unload' command via 'mtx'. -
Q: My Breece Hill loader does not properly report its slots. A: Either set the "auto-inventory" feature in the loader's control panel, or run 'mtx inventory' prior to running 'mtx status'. -
Q: My Breece Hill loader takes a long time to do an inventory. mtx times out and spits all over the place. Help! A: Many loaders that support barcodes will perform poorly if you place tapes into them without bar codes. Place bar codes on all your tapes and you should be able to run 'mtx inventory' without that failure. -
Q: How do I eject the magazine of my autoloader? A: Many low-end DAT autoloaders support the removable media 'EJECT' command sent to the robotics device, even though it's not documented (or required) in the SCSI standards. If the loader is at /dev/sgb, simply do 'mtx -f /dev/sgb eject' and see what happens. (If nothing happens, your autoloader doesn't support 'eject'). Some high-end libraries have their own proprietary way for ejecting magazine trays, generally involving abuse of the 'transfer' command and 'eepos' addendums, but this is totally non-standard and undocumented. -
Q: Is there a standard for cleaning tape bar codes? A: Many libraries, and many backup programs, expect cleaning tape bar codes to start with "CLN". -
Q: Why do I get a message saying "no Data Transfer Element reported" on my Sony XL1B changer? A: You need to use the "altres" option.
The Sony device does not conform to the standard for Media Changers. An alternate method has been written to read the information about the device. The altres option is used to tell mtx to use the alternate method. -
Q: How do I report a bug? A: First, read this FAQ. Next, check the mtx list archives at http://sourceforge.net/projects/mtx to make sure that it's not already addressed by somebody else. If your problem is still not solved, send (to the mtx list) the following information:
Result of 'mtx inquiry' on the loader,
Result of 'mtx status' on the loader (minus a bunch of tapes if it's a 50+ tape loader!),
Results of the operation that isn't working correctly.
| Maintained by Robert Nelson | Date Changed: | Changed By: |
