What does Windows error code 1102 (ERROR_BEGINNING_OF_MEDIA) mean?

ERROR_BEGINNING_OF_MEDIA

the beginning of the tape or a partition was encountered.

ERROR_BEGINNING_OF_MEDIA means that a backward positioning or access operation reached the start of a tape or tape partition.

Where the result appears

• rewind and reverse-spacing commands.
• Restore tools navigating among tape files.
• partitioned tape media.
• diagnostic or inventory software querying sequential-media position.

Typical causes

• the requested reverse movement exceeds the current position.
• the drive is already at load point or partition start.
• the caller used an incorrect position or partition assumption.
• a previous operation rewound or repartitioned the medium.

What to collect

• current partition, file number, block number, and requested movement.
• previous positioning commands and drive completion statuses.
• media type and partition configuration.
• whether a tape library or another process changed drive state.

Handling and recovery

Treat the condition as a positioning boundary. Recalculate the desired location from a known load point or catalog coordinate instead of issuing repeated reverse commands. If the boundary is unexpected, verify that the correct cartridge and partition are loaded.

Common misinterpretation

The beginning-of-media condition does not mean the tape is blank. Data may begin at or after the current logical position.

References

• Microsoft: System error codes 1000–1299