VXATool for Windows INSTALLATION, REQUIREMENTS AND TROUBLESHOOTING ---------------------------------------------- VXATool is a diagnostic program used for configuring, testing, and upgrading firmware in the Exabyte VXA SCSI, ATAPI and FireWire tape drives. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ------------------------------------- The VXATool requires a Windows(r) 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP or 2003 operating system. On Windows 98 and NT systems, the VXATool requires the installation of an ASPI layer. During installation of the VXATool, you will be prompted if ASPI should be installed as well. INSTALLING VXATOOL ------------------------------------- Follow these instructions to install VXATool on your system: 1. VXATool is available for download in ZIP(r) format. Download the zip file to your system. 2. Extract the zip file into the folder of your choice. You can either use the DOS utility "PKUNZIP.EXE" from the DOS command line (to do this, type "PKUNZIP THETOOL.ZIP") or, you can use WinZip or a similar utility. Be sure to write down the path into which you extract the files. You will need this information in order to install the program. 3. Method 1: Browse the folder where you unzipped VXATool and double-click on the file "Setup.exe." Method 2: Click your system's "Start" button, click the "Run" option, and select the "Browse" button. Select the directory where you unzipped VXATool and double-click on the file Setup.exe. You should now see the path and filename setup.exe in the run box. Click the OK button. 4. Follow the prompts of the setup program to guide you through the installation. PRIOR TO RUNNING VXATOOL ------------------------------------- Before running VXATool, completely shut down your backup application and any services it may be running. The backup application may prevent communications with the tape drive or may interrupt vxaTool functions resulting in their failure. VXATOOL FUNCTIONS ------------------------------------- Extensive on-line help is available in VXATool and can be accessed by selecting the Help button from any of the tool's pages. Brief descriptions of some of the tool's functions are contained here. !! NOTE !! While running VXATool, it is strongly advised that you stop operations and services of any installed backup application. DETECTING AND SELECTING DRIVES ------------------------------------- When VXATool starts, it displays all detected VXA drives on the Main Page. The first drive found by the system becomes the initial default selection. If more than one drive is present, you can select here among the drives listed. VXATool can accommodate a maximum of four VXA tape drives. ***Note*** If you are using a FireWire VXA drive, the VXATool requires that a tape device driver be loaded on the system. Refer to your backup application for information on whether or not it installs a tape device driver. Otherwise, a Windows tape device driver is available for download from www.exabyte.com. A tape device driver is not necessary for the VXATool to detect and access SCSI or ATAPI VXA drives. UPGRADING FIRMWARE ------------------------------------- Follow these instructions to upgrade firmware using VXATool: 1. Download the latest firmware release from www.exabyte.com. Firmware files on www.exabyte.com are typically archived in a ZIP(r) format. Extract the firmware zip file into the folder of your choice. 2. Select the Upgrade Drive Firmware button on the Main Page. Follow the prompts to guide you through selecting the firmware file. 3. While the firmware upgrade is in progress, the drive's LEDs will flash. Do NOT interrupt a firmware update in progress. When the firmware update is complete, LEDs 1,2,3 will be off and LED 4 will be green. RUNNING A DIAGNOSTIC TEST ------------------------------------- The VXATool can perform a diagnostic write/read test on the VXA tape drive. At the end of the test a message is displayed reporting whether or not the drive is running satisfactorily. 1. Load a tape into the drive. Use a new tape or known good tape. Using a worn tape may result in the test's failure. 2. From the Main Tab, select the Tape Drive Test button. Test status is displayed in the status window. Alternatively, diagnostic write/read tests can also be started from the Diagnostics Page. The Short Drive Test writes 500MB of data, rewinds, and reads it. The Long Drive Test writes 2GB of data, rewinds and reads it. OBTAINING A DIAGNOSTIC LOG ------------------------------------- If problems are experienced with the VXA tape drive, Exabyte Technical Support may ask for a log in order to better troubleshoot the problem. If instructed to do so by Exabyte Technical Support, follow the steps below to obtain a log file from the VXA drive. ***Note*** A drive logfile should be taken as soon as possible after an error occurs. Do NOT power-cycle or otherwise disturb the drive prior to taking the drive log. Power-cycling the drive clears important information from the drive's buffers. 1. From the Advanced Tab, select the Gather Logfile button. Follow the prompts to guide you through saving a logfile. 2. Send the logfile to Exabyte Technical Support for analysis. CHANGING THE INQUIRY STRING ------------------------------------- Follow these instructions to change the inquiry reported by the VXA drive. This may be necessary if your backup application does not recognize the drive's factory default inquiry. ***Note*** Changing the drive's inquiry string has no affect on the drive's performance or capacity. ***Note*** If a tape is loaded in the drive, it will be unloaded when using this function. 1. From the Advanced Page, use the Inquiry String drop-down list to select the desired inquiry string. If the change is successful, a message similar to the following will be shown in the VXATool status window. Inquiry Updated ECRIX VXA-1 Please REBOOT the system to activate the change. 2. Reboot your system so that the operating system and backup application are using the new inquiry string reported by the drive. VERIFYING YOUR HARDWARE INSTALLATION ------------------------------------- VXATool can be used to help verify that your hardware installation is working properly. VXATool can demonstrate: 1. that your system can communicate over the SCSI, FireWire or ATAPI interface with the drive. 2. that your tape drive is functioning properly. To verify your hardware installation, follow these steps: 1. Load a tape with no important data on it into your tape drive. IMPORTANT: This tape will be overwritten. Any data written to it previously will be lost. 2. Start VXATool. VXATool will scan your system for detected VXA drives. The detected VXA drives will be displayed on the VXATool Main Tab. 3. Scan Results: * If your VXA drive IS listed in the VXATool Main Tab: Continue with the steps below. * If your VXA drive IS NOT listed in the VXATool Main Tab: ¤ Make sure that your backup application and its services have been stopped. ¤ Check that your cables are in good condition and securely connected. ¤ Make sure the SCSI bus is terminated. ¤ For FireWire drives, make sure that a tape device driver is installed for the VXA drive. ¤ Make sure that an appropriate driver has been installed for your SCSI, FireWire, or ATAPI controller. Refer to instructions from your controller's manufacturer. ¤ Refer to the VXA drive's Product Manual for more detailed installation instructions and troubleshooting information. 4. Run a VXATool Long Test. Start the Long Test from the VXATool Diagnostic tab. Interface problems can be intermittent. Therefore if your system is experiencing interface problems, running for a longer test period is more likely to expose them. 5. Test results: * If the test completes successfully: ¤ Your hardware installation is working properly. Data has been transferred successfully across the SCSI, FireWire or ATAPI interface. ¤ Your VXA tape drive is writing and reading data without any problems. * If the test reports that your tape drive is writing or reading with difficulty: ¤ Your hardware installation is working properly. Data has been transferred successfully across the SCSI, FireWire or ATAPI interface. ¤ Your VXA tape drive has successfully completed all write and read commands during the test. However, it required rewriting or rereading a relatively high number of blocks. Clean the drive, load a new tape, and run the test again. * If the test reports that an error occurred: VXATool will display the error description along with the reported error's Sense Key, ASC and ASCQ values. Refer to the VXA drive's SCSI Manual for a description of the reported error. The SCSI manual can be downloaded from www.exabyte.com. ¤ Media error (Sense Key 3): Clean the drive, load a new tape, and run the test again. ¤ Hardware error (Sense Key 4): Use VXATool to take a diagnostic logfile, and contact Technical Support. ¤ Other errors will most likely be due to a problem with the SCSI, FireWire, or ATAPI interface. Check that your cables are in good condition and securely connected. Make sure the SCSI bus is terminated. Refer to the VXA drive's Product Manual for detailed installation instructions. 6. Before using the test tape with your backup application, use VXATool to erase the tape. Start the erase operation from the VXATool Diagnostics tab. TROUBLESHOOTING ------------------------------------- If you encounter any difficulty installing the VXATool please contact Exabyte Technical Support.