From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Mar 15 21:07:09 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [69.147.83.52]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A86F2106564A for ; Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:07:09 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jerrymc@gizmo.acns.msu.edu) Received: from gizmo.acns.msu.edu (gizmo.acns.msu.edu [35.8.1.43]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 650678FC12 for ; Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:07:08 +0000 (UTC) Received: from gizmo.acns.msu.edu (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gizmo.acns.msu.edu (8.13.6/8.13.6) with ESMTP id q2FL2qhZ009489; Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:02:52 -0400 (EDT) (envelope-from jerrymc@gizmo.acns.msu.edu) Received: (from jerrymc@localhost) by gizmo.acns.msu.edu (8.13.6/8.13.6/Submit) id q2FL2qfs009488; Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:02:52 -0400 (EDT) (envelope-from jerrymc) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:02:52 -0400 From: Jerry McAllister To: Martin McCormick Message-ID: <20120315210251.GB9374@gizmo.acns.msu.edu> References: <201203152017.q2FKH5mN067960@x.it.okstate.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <201203152017.q2FKH5mN067960@x.it.okstate.edu> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.2i Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Reading an unknown DAT Tape X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:07:09 -0000 On Thu, Mar 15, 2012 at 03:17:05PM -0500, Martin McCormick wrote: > This is a case of idle curiosity and not an urgent need > to recover a valuable backup. I found an old DAT tape and > attempted to read it on the very drive that probably once wrote > it and it appears to read the tape properly in that I can use dd > to copy it to a file and mt fsf 5, for example, takes the tape > to the fifth file marker so there is sanity. > > Tar, however, does not recognize the format of the > archive so it is either something proprietary or I am not using > the correct utility on it. > > I opened it with dd files=2 if=/dev/sa0 of=testfile and > then did the strings utility on testfile and got: > > TAPE > SSET > VOLB > DIRB > NACL > Setting security > iles > SPAD > DIRB > NACL > Setting security on system files... > SPAD > DIRB > NACL > SPAD > DIRB > NACL > SPAD > FILE > NACL > STAN > Jun 23 2003 12:00AM > Jan 1 1900 8:45AM > Jan 1 1900 9:00AM I wondered about it being a dump(8) file, but just tried one and strings output looked a little different. How about a db of some sort or a log from some lab test? ////jerry > > Note that we are obviously able to read data from the > tape as the top few lines are readible as words. The time stamps > at the bottom are possibly not time stamps as some of them are > not plausible. > > The dd command never faltered with errors although I > did finally stop it manually. > > Is there any FreeBSD utility that can tell more about > what created the original archive? > > Thank you. > > Martin McCormick > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"