>> 3)	dd if=/dev/nrst0 bs=20b fails with a complaint about the
>> 	block size being too big for the tape drive(r).

> On my freshly-built-yesterday P120, I get

> scipio# dd if=/dev/nrst0 bs=20b of=/tmp/tapefile
> dd: /dev/nrst0: Input/output error
> scipio# dd if=/dev/nrst0 bs=20b of=/tmp/tapefile
> dd: /dev/nrst0: Input/output error
> 0+0 records in
> 0+0 records out
> 0 bytes transferred in 12 secs (0 bytes/sec)
> scipio# Mar 28 01:16:30 scipio /netbsd: st0: 32768-byte record too big
> Mar 28 01:16:30 scipio /netbsd: st0: 32768-byte record too big

This message _sounds_ as though the tape contains 32K records, which
are too big for the 10K records you're trying to read.

> I made the tape (level 0 dumps) with a 63k blocksize ... what is the
> "right" size to use?

Um, 63K, because that's what's on the tape?  Except in that case I have
no idea what the messages about 32768-byte records are doing there.

Try dd bs=63k maybe?  Perhaps dd bs=63k count=1 of=/dev/null to find
out how big the records are - or at least how big the first record is?

					der Mouse

			    mouse@collatz.mcrcim.mcgill.edu