Re: [Bug-tar] Cannot savedir: Not a directory

[Sergey Poznyakoff]

Hi Jean-Louis,

To begin with, let me ask you what version of GNU tar it is?

> A user get this error when doing incremental backup:
>  /bin/tar: ./opt/novell/nss/mnt/.pools/DATA: Cannot savedir: Not a
> directory
> 
> He is using '--ignore-failed-read', why tar exit with code 2?

This option affects only failed reads from the archive, but it does
not affect failed chdir/opendir/readdir calls.

> This directory is strange, a size of 0 and 1 link:
> 
> $ stat /opt/novell/nss/mnt/.pools/DATA
>  File: `/opt/novell/nss/mnt/.pools/DATA'
>  Size: 0               Blocks: 0          IO Block: 4096   directory
> Device: fd08h/64776d    Inode: 127         Links: 1
> Access: (0000/d---------)  Uid: (    0/    root)   Gid: (    0/    root)
> Access: 2009-07-31 07:29:58.270585641 -0500
> Modify: 2009-07-31 07:29:58.270585641 -0500
> Change: 2009-07-31 07:29:58.270585641 -0500

Strange, indeed. Most probably, it's opendir that's failed on it.

> He also use the '--one-file-system' option, why tar try to do a
> savedir on the directory if it is on a different filesystem?

It needed to save the meta-data of this directory, anyway.

> The attached path delay the call to savedir until it is needed.
> I havent tested it on the user system, I want to know if it break
> something before sending it to the user.

>From the first glance, it should not break anything. But I doubt
if it should help in this case, either.

Regards,
Sergey