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Date:	Thu, 14 Feb 2002 22:56:34 PST7
From:	Peter Skye <pskye@peterskye.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: Re: Backup Problems Update

Content Type: text/plain

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J. R. Fox wrote:
>
> I've no idea who is more correct about this
> (possible) cable deterioration issue, you or Peter.

J. R. -

Cables do go bad. I was arguing the smaller point where "somebody" said
that resistors go bad due to exposure to air and slightly-above-average
temperatures.

Weird failures do happen. I had a drive cable once that had a conductor
separation inside the insulation. I fixed it by flexing the cable back
and forth until I found the point where it worked properly, then tying a
string around it to hold it at the proper flexed position. The problem
was *inside* the *wire*! The point is, any part of the system can fail.

Swap the positions of the devices on the cable -- that will tell you if
it's a connector or not (make sure you change the terminations
appropriately).

Then, if the problem persists, buy the cheapest replacement cable you
can find and try it. That will tell you if it's the cable or not.

> I'd love to have more of a bead on exactly what the
> problem was, so that I might better avoid it in future.
> However, there are some very practical limits on how
> far I'm willing to go in furtherance of determining this.

Well, for example, I have some 8 GB Seagate tape drives (both IDE and
SCSI) which work fine on Back Again/2 but fail on Back Again 2000. BA
2000 reports that all the tapes are bad (every single one I have, at
random points into each backup) but the older Back Again/2 works with
every tape just fine.

> > we talking about the wear temperature cycles cause.
> > Also, the inside of cases are somewhat above room
> > temperature. IAC, this all comes under general wear
> > and tear that increases the noise in the cables. Fix
> > any one of the problems and the noise probably
> > goes below the threshold that causes problems.
>
> Which problems, what fixes ? Assuming I keep this cable
> through the next upgrade cycle, we can inspcect connectors,
> check tightness of connections etc. when the work is being
> done. I also hope to improve the level of cooling inside the
> case, from the present perfectly adequate up to clearly
> overkill. (Overkill in regard to computer specs is my guiding
> philosophy.) But will that be sufficient ?
> ***** What would you do ? *****

I'd swap the positions of the devices on the existing cable plus change
the termination so it's still at the end of the cable, and see what
happens.

If the problem stays the same, it's not the cable.

If the problem moves to a different device (especially if the problem
stays on the same cable connector as before), it *is* the cable.

And if the problem goes away, you get to have many sleepless nights
wondering when the problem will return. :)))

- Peter

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