CPF3770: No objects saved or restored for library

What it means

CPF3770 has the text "No objects saved or restored for library &1." Both Save Library (SAVLIB) and Restore Library (RSTLIB) list it among their escape messages. Both commands also list it as a status message.

The message is a total. It says the count of objects saved or restored for that library was zero. It doesn't give the reason. For each object that failed, the command sends its own diagnostic message first, so the reason is a few lines higher in the job log.

Zero isn't always a problem. IBM documents a case in BRMS. From V5R4 on, the operating system can save spooled files on its own, and BRMS logs CPF3770 for library *SPLF for each output queue in a spooled file list that has nothing in it. At V5R3 an empty queue produced no message. The backup carries on with the other items in the control group.

Common causes

• Every object in the library was locked by other jobs, so the save couldn't get the locks it needed. This is common when a library is saved while users are active and save-while-active isn't used.
• Nothing was selected. The SELECT or OMITOBJ values left no objects to process. On a restore, OPTION(*NEW) skips every object that already exists, so it can end up restoring nothing.
• The user running the save or restore isn't authorized to the objects, and doesn't have *SAVSYS special authority.
• On a restore, the objects on the media couldn't be restored over the existing ones. Typical reasons are objects in use, damage, or differences such as a new owner or file level ID while ALWOBJDIF is *NONE.
• In BRMS, an output queue in a spooled file list was empty. This is expected and harmless.

How to find the problem

1. Run DSPJOBLOG on the save or restore job and scroll up from CPF3770. The diagnostic messages above it name each object that failed and why. Press F1 on each one for the details.
2. For an unattended backup, check QSYSOPR and the history log with DSPLOG, because the job log may already be gone.
3. For a restore, list what is actually on the media with DSPTAP DEV(TAP01) DATA(*SAVRST), or DSPSAVF for a save file, and compare it with what you asked for.
4. In BRMS, the BRMS log (DSPLOGBRM) and the control group's spooled file list show which output queue the message belongs to.
5. Check whether the library really has objects: DSPLIB LIB(ACCTLIB).

How to fix it

• Fix the cause the diagnostics give, then rerun the save or restore for that one library.
• For lock problems, save while users are off the system or use save-while-active (the SAVACT parameter) so files that are open for update can still be saved.
• For authority problems, run the save from a profile with *SAVSYS, or grant the needed authority to the objects.
• For a restore that skipped objects, check the OPTION value, end the jobs that use the objects, and use ALWOBJDIF only when a security officer agrees that the differences are expected.
• For the BRMS empty output queue case, no fix is needed. Note it in your backup checklist so operators don't chase it.

What it looks like

No objects saved or restored for library ACCTLIB.

DSPMSGD MSGID(CPF3770) MSGF(QSYS/QCPFMSG)

Technical reviewer: Albert Joseph, WND Software.

Last reviewed 2026-10-18 by the WND Software team. Written in our own words. For the full reference, check IBM’s documentation for your IBM i release.