Problem

STATUS CODE 277: Attempts to bring up drives through Device Monitor generate the error, "the drive is not ready or inoperable" with a NetBackup Status Code 277.

Error
status code 277: the drive is not ready or inoperable

Solution
Overview: Drives are down in Device Manager, and when started, they fail with a NetBackup Status Code 277, "the drive is not ready or inoperable". Troubleshooting: Review the drive configuration and confirm the latest drivers are installed. Log files: N/A Resolution: In general, NetBackup Status Code 277 appears when changes are made to the NetBackup environment and either the services are not cycled, or the server is not rebooted. On a Windows server, two areas to check for potential causes of a Status Code 277 are the Windows Device Manager and the Tape Driver. First, verify the drives are shown in Device Manager by going to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager Verify the drive appears in the list, and expand the list to verify the correct number of configured drives is detected and that there are no errors associated with any of the drives. If the drives appear OK, stop and restart the NetBackup services on the server. Failure to cycle the NetBackup services after configuration changes to the NetBackup environment are known to cause Status Code 277 error messages. If the drives are shown in Device Monitor, verify the driver details for each Tape Drive. One at a time, select each tape drive listed, right click and choose Properties, then select the Driver tab (which will look like Figure 1). Figure 1

If the Driver Provider shows as being "Unknown" then it is necessary to reload the tape device driver. After loading a new driver, reboot the server. For convenience, Symantec provides a Veritas NetBackup Tape Device Driver Installer. This executable may be downloaded from the following respective NetBackup Support Web sites: NetBackup DataCenter: http://entsupport.symantec.com/menu_ddProduct_NETBACKUPDC_view_DOWNLOAD.htm NetBackup BusinesServer: http://entsupport.symantec.com/menu_ddProduct_NETBACKUPBS_view_DOWNLOAD.htm NetBackup Enterprise Server: http://entsupport.symantec.com/menu_ddProduct_NBUESVR_view_DOWNLOAD.htm NetBackup Server: http://entsupport.symantec.com/menu_ddProduct_NBUSVR_view_DOWNLOAD.htm

In some cases where the drive is detected by the operating system but not NetBackup, reloading the driver and rebooting the server has resolved the problem.

If the Tape Drives do not appear, the operating system is not able to detect the devices. Begin by rebooting the server in question and see if the operating system can detect the devices when it comes back up. In addition, review the Event Viewer Application and System logs to try and determine what event resulted in the drives being lost. If on reboot, the drives are still not shown in Device monitor, further hardware troubleshooting is required. Review the cabling, SCSI controllers, HBA cards, or the drives themselves for any problems or errors. Consult the hardware vendor and operating system vendor for assistance.