Tape Input-Output error

This article is a part of the Troubleshooting collection.

Problem

amdump(8) and amflush(8) give "Input/output error" messages, such as.

  taper: tape weekly-002 kb 0 fm 0 writing filemark: Input/output error

Solution

amdump(8) guesses how large a dump will be. This can change on a system in constant use (good time to perform remote dumps is durring scheduled downtime). So the major problem is that amdump will figure out what it has room for durring the dump, and if the actual size exceeds the estimate and overflows the tape, you'll see this error.

This error may also occur when the tape drive begins to fail; see How To:Diagnose a Failing Tape Drive.