Re: mt eof + Travan = Operation not permitted

["Jens B. Jorgensen" <jjorgens@bdsinc.com>]

meierrj@frc.com wrote:
> 
> Debians,
> 
>         Thank you in advance for any help.
> 
>         I recently upgraded my Slackware 3.0 (linux 1.2.13) system to Debian
> 1.1 (linux 2.0.6) via InfoMagic's Dec 96 6 cd set, and was disappointed that
> mt(1) limitations were not lifted.
> 
> Summary:How can I read and write multiple archives on a floppy tape?
>         Is anyone writing multiple archives on a Travan floppy tape?
> 
> Problem:mt -f /dev/nrft0 eof
>                 reports "Operation not permitted"
>         I understood that this was a limitation of linux 1.2.13 but not
>                 of linux 2.0.6.
> 
>         tar -cvf /dev/nrft0 .
>         tar -cvf /dev/nrft0 ./.deleted
>                 writes the first file (archive of .)
>                 does not write the second file (archive of ./.deleted)
> 
>         400MB tapes have ~10%/400MB read error rate.
>         I suspect that the Travan T-1000 motor is only marginally capable
>                 of handling the moment of inertia of 400MB tapes.
> 
> Workaround: (for past year with Slackware 3.0)
>         Place only one archive on each tape.
>         Use /dev/rft0.
>         Use only 200MB tapes.
> 
> Config: Dell Dimension XPS-133c
>         Travan T-1000 400MB internal floppy tape controller
>         Debian 1.1
>         linux 2.0.6

Ok, well I haven't used a Travan drive, but I've used many other 
QIC drives with Linux. I've always put multiple archives on a tape,
but I've *never* used the eof command for mt. Why not use the 'fsf'
command for mt? Perhaps that will work?

-- 
Jens B. Jorgensen
jjorgens@bdsinc.com