Hello, I attempted to perform a full backup using "tar" and a SCSI tape drive. The command issued (as a root) was: tar -cvMPf /dev/st0 --volno-file /root/backup/backup_vol_nums /* It started OK but after some time (I guess, when the first tape had been filled up) I've got the error message: tar: /dev/st0: Cannot close: Input/output error Prepare volume #2 for `/dev/st0' and hit return: I attempted to replace the tape and got the error message: tar: /dev/st0: Warning: Cannot open: No such device or address Prepare volume #2 for `/dev/st0' and hit return: From that point and on, the device "/dev/st0" behaved busy and even the "shutdown" didn't worked - apparently the system waited until everything had been properly closed while this device remained opened so I finally had to brutally power down the system. Reading about SCSI tape device names I saw that there are few names for the same tape: /dev/st0 for mode 0 /dev/st0l for mode 1 /dev/st0m for mode 2 /dev/st0a for mode 3 Did I used the correct device name for multi-volume backup with tar? What is the difference between different modes of accessing the SCSI tape? Any ideas as to what causes the error message? TIA, kaza.
