Thanks,
I guess I will have to reboot and make sure it really is misdetected in the
bios. Turns out it is detected at the SCSI level as a C305 Tape. So that
seems OK. And today it is detected as a tape drive by XP also. How strange.

This is not a new installation on this machine. It was backing up
successfully for some months.

Tape is still not working and HP Tape Tools quit after reporting: "An error
occurred while the diagnostic function was started for the selected device.
See the Event Log for details (accessible vie the 'File' menu)."

I guess it is time to call HP and probably to replace the drive.
Kal

"Jonny" wrote in message
...
If the scsi card has no onboard bios, or is disabled, the OS detects the
scsi device connected to the scsi card. Your PC's bios detects the scsi
card only, no connected scsi devices. Even if detected by the scsi bios,
doesn't mean the OS can utilize the scsi tape drive.

In the past, I've had to install 3rd party backup software to detect the
scsi tape drive. The software came with drivers for detecting and
utilizing the scsi tape drive. Proper termination and sequence of scsi
devices by ID connected to the card can also be a factor.
--
Jonny
"Kal" wrote in message
...
A HP C5683A tape was detected as CD on a Windows XP system. At this point
it is disabled. I believe it actually happens at the POST level.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled it and rebooted numerous times. I
moved the SCSI card to a different slot. Other ideas?

What makes xp (or the bios) detect something as the wrong device?

Kal