🚀 go-pugleaf

"B. Paris" wrote:
> 
> I use i386 redhat7.1 with kernel 2.4.14.
> 
> I don't understand this tar problems, any help would be appreciated:
> 
> - I make a tar archive of the exclusive root partition in a file on a
> different filesystem  (mounted on /mnt/diskC) :
> 
> % tar cplf /mnt/diskC/aa.tar /
> 
> - When I make
> 
> % cd /mnt/diskC ; tar xf aa.tar
> 
> I get some errors like
> tar: /bin/gzip: Cannot link to bin/gzip: Invalid cross-device link
> tar: bin/gunzip: Cannot link to bin/gunzip: Invalid cross-device link
> tar: sbin/dosfsck: Cannot link to sbin/dosfsck: Invalid cross-device link
> tar: sbin/mkdosfs: Cannot link to sbin/mkdosfs: Invalid cross-device link
> 
> This is curious as - for example - /bin/gzip is not a link but a real
> file. Furthermore, where could it be a cross-device problem there ??
First, /bin/gzip _is_ a link. It is identical to /bin/gunzip and
/bin/zcat, as you might see in the following lines:

find /bin  -inum 1287 -ls
  1287   56 -rwxr-xr-x   4 root     root        50652 Feb  8  2001
/bin/zcat
  1287   56 -rwxr-xr-x   4 root     root        50652 Feb  8  2001
/bin/gunzip
  1287   56 -rwxr-xr-x   4 root     root        50652 Feb  8  2001
/bin/gzip

Since tar strips the initial /, as you have called it, tar restores
bin/zcat in your current directory when untarring (/mnt/diskC) and then
tries to link bin/gzip to /bin/zcat, which _is_ a cross device link. If
you list your tarfile via tar tf, you will see these links
(unfortunately this is german, but the word 'Link' should be quite
clear):

[..]
-rwxr-xr-x root/root     50652 2001-02-08 16:39:04 bin/zcat
-rwxr-xr-x root/root         0 2001-02-08 16:39:04 bin/gunzip Link auf
'/bin/zcat'.
-rwxr-xr-x root/root         0 2001-02-08 16:39:04 bin/gzip Link auf
'/bin/zcat'.
-rwsr-xr-x root/root     22620 2001-01-16 16:34:21 bin/ping
[..]

Probably you might be more satisfied with cpio

HTH
Herbert