Is it possible to configure or script Backup Exec to test for the
presence of a tape in the drive (and trigger notification if absent)
prior to and apart from the test/notification performed at the time of
the backup?

I understand that this is not the Backup Exec way, but I find that the
notifcation of failure or  given at the time of backup is usually too
late to address until the following day unless someone makes a special
trip out to the problem site as backups are often scheduled to begin
after IT and other staff have gone home.

I have tried using a recurring Inventory job with notification upon
completion. However, I must *always* receive a notification regardless
of success or failure *and* I have to read through the log of the job
to find out if it found the drive to be empty. I'd rather only be
notified if the drive is empty. Notification must always be sent
because all Inventory jobs succeed regardless of whether a tape is
present or not.

The closest I have come to finding a solution is to use a Test Run job
because it will say failure or success within the subject line of the
email, but again the only option is to *always* notifiy upon
completion, *and* I have to run an Inventory job prior to the Test Run
job or Backup Exec determines the drive to be empty even when a tape is
loaded into it. You'd think you could at least turn off the option to
always send a notification, but for whatever reason when a Test Run job
fails, unlike every other job failure that can occur, no notification
is triggered.

:P

If anyone has helpful clues regarding this I would be most
appreciative. Thank you!

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