I have an HP tape robot system with a barcode reader. Let's say I take a tape with barcode #GP6750L6 and run a full backup to it. I give this tape a Media Description of "2014-06-26 Full", then move this tape #GP6750L6 to Media Vault "Safe" and remove the tape from the robot and put it in our safe. After two weeks, I rotate the tape back into the robot. If I do a scan, tape #GP6750L6 shows up in the robot. However, it shows up as "unknown". It does not have the correct Media Description, nor does it show the proper Capacity numbers, nor does it show the proper contents.
I have to do an "Inventory" which actually has to load the tape and read a little bit of info from it and then unload the tape. When I do this, the Contents, Media Description, and Capacity numbers become valid once again.
Why do I have to run "Inventory" on a tape that Backup Exec already has the information for simply by reading its barcode? I suppose it is possible I put the tape in another backup system and did something to it, so maybe it is doing that for safety. However, I don't have another tape system, and it is perfectly safe to make the assumption that what is on the tape follows the barcode number. Is there some preference I can set so that a simple scan will show the tape information and contents properly?
Thanks for any replies.