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From: msc@ramoth.SGI.COM (Mark Callow)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re: tar
Summary: GNU tar won't help
Message-ID: <29360@sgi.SGI.COM>
Date: 24 Mar 89 20:28:28 GMT
References: <8903231551.AA02202@aero4.larc.nasa.gov> <28925@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Sender: daemon@sgi.SGI.COM
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Lines: 20

In article <28925@bu-cs.BU.EDU>, eap@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Eric Pearce) writes:
> 
>   Has anybody tried GNU tar on the SGI?  (I can't try it myself at the
>   moment)  It does multi-volume archives and incremental backups and
>   restores.  I don't know if it would solve the tape positioning
>   problems you are having with the 1/4" drive.  It's worth a try.
> 
>   (you can get it from prep.ai.mit.edu)
> 
It won't help.  The problem is the 1/4" controller and drive.  I believe
it's common to all 1/4 inch archive tapes.  The man page for tar on SunOs
release 4.0 says

	r	... Note: this option does not work with quarter-inch archive
		tapes.

SGI's tar handles multi-volume tar files.  Beer/Bru is good for backup.

--
	-Mark