Problems with a Damaged Removable Storage Manager Database

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

SYMPTOMS

When you try to start the Removable Storage service, the service may stop responding (hang). Also, when you try to use the Windows 2000 Backup tool to restore a working Removable Storage Manager (RSM) database, you may receive the following error message and you may only receive the option to restore from a file:

Backup cannot connect to the Removable Storage service.
This service is required for use of tape drives and other backup devices.

REMOVABLE STORAGE

Server Execution failed.

The removable storage database failed to load. Check the event log.

CAUSE

This issue can occur if either of the following conditions exist:

• The DelayStart value in the registry is not set to a sufficient value.



• The Removable Storage database is damaged.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).
The RSM database is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32\NtmsData folder. Whenever you use Windows 2000 Backup to back up your %SystemRoot% folder, Backup automatically backs up the RSM database to two locations, the backup media itself, and the %SystemRoot%\System32\NtmsData\Export folder. Normally, you could use Windows 2000 Backup to restore the Ntmsdata folder, but this advanced restore option does not work if the Removable Storage database is damaged.

To resolve this issue:

1. Perform the steps listed in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, test to determine if the issue is resolved, and if not, continue with the remaining steps:

   Q228987 Event ID 129 for Removable Storage Manager After Reboot




2. Manually restore your Removable Storage database:
   
   NOTE: If you have never performed a %SystemRoot% backup using Windows 2000 backup, the %SystemRoot%\System32\NtmsData\Export folder does not exist. If this is the case, only perform steps 3-5, and then restart RSM or your computer. After RSM starts, it creates a new database that should permit your alternate backup program to use RSM and perform a restoration of the good database.



3. In the Computer Management tool, double-click the Services and Applications branch to expand it, and then click Services.



4. Locate and stop the "Removable Storage" service, or change the startup type from "Automatic" to "Disabled", and then restart your computer.



5. Use Windows Explorer to view the %SystemRoot%\System32\NtmsData folder, and rename the existing files in this folder to a .old file extension, or copy them to a different folder.



6. Use Registry Editor to view the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\NTMS

   If the ImportDatabase REG_DWORD exists, change the value of the ImportDatabase REG_DWORD from 0 to 0x1. If it does not exist, add it with a value of 0x1:
   
   value name: ImportDatabase
   data type: REG_DWORD
   String: 1



7. In the Computer Management tool, double-click the Services and Applications branch to expand it, and then click Services.



8. Locate the Removable Storage service, try to start the service, or change the startup type from "Disabled" to "Automatic", and then restart your computer. This should import the database from the export folder, build a new index file, and be consistent from when the last %Systemroot% backup was performed.
   
   NOTE: Remote Storage Server (RSS) also automatically backs-up the Ntmsdata folder as part of a File Migration session. You could take this media to another computer and use Windows 2000 Backup to restore the RSM database files. You can then copy them to the %SystemRoot%\System32\NtmsData\Export folder of the original computer, and then follow the procedures listed earlier in this article.

MORE INFORMATION

RSM makes it easy to manage online libraries (such as changers and jukeboxes) and track removable tapes and disks. RSM facilitates communication between removable-media storage systems and data management programs, such as Windows Backup and RSS. RSM labels, catalogs, and tracks all media, controls the drives, slots, and doors, and provides uniform drive cleaning operations.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kberrmsg kbtool kbui
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb