Mounting a Tape Drive 1

[tijuanataxi]

I am using HP-UX version 6 (as old as it may be, the scripts I use were written just for the older version).
I've got a tape containing some back-up files. The files were created by compressing multiple files using the 'tar' command. When I try to uncompress them using 'tar -xv' I get an error message stating: "Unable to open /dev/rmt/0m."
Do I need to mount the drive first?
I've tried using the Recover function in SAM with no luck in retrieving a list of files to choose from. These tapes were created by my predecessor who has left the company, so I have no Documentation on what files are actually there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[MikeLacey]

Could I suggest that first of all:

With a new tape test the tape drive using tar on the device /dev/rmt/0m.

Tar a few files from /tmp onto a tape and then tar them back into /tmp - just to make sure that the tape drive is hunky dory. Mike
michael.j.lacey@ntlworld.com
Email welcome if you're in a hurry or something -- but post in tek-tips as well please, and I will post my reply here as well.

 

[tijuanataxi]

Do I need to mount the drive first, or will the tar command mount it?

 

[rj5132]

To answer the last question: tape drives are not technically "mounted". They are a raw device so there is no need for the data to be accessed through the standard file system layout. The data is simply being "piped" through the device file to the device itself.

-bob