[comp.os.vms] NOPRIV error on "SET MAGTAPE/END_OF_FILE" of foreign tape

BJ@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU (Bob Jones) (07/19/88)

We are a relatively new VMS site with a nagging question.  When a user tries to 
issue the command sequence:
	$ mount/foreign/write   hsc0$mua1:   MYTAPE:
	$ convert/fdl=flat80   INPUT.FIL   MYTAPE:
	$ set magtape/end_of_file   MYTAPE:
in response to the "set magtape" command he gets the error:
	%SYSTEM-F-NOPRIV, no privilege for attempted operation
(INPUT.FIL and MYTAPE are capitalized merely to indicate that they are 
arbitrarily selected user names)  We are running VMS 4.7 on our VAX 8800. 
The image SET.EXE is installed with privileges CMKRNL, TMPMBX and SYSPRV.
Should it be installed with other privileges as well, or are we missing 
something else?  The user merely wants to insure that a second tape mark is 
written.  If it's in TFM somewhere, please be gentle and just point me in 
the right direction.  Thanks in advance.
==============================================================================
Bob Jones			INTERNET:	bj@oregon.uoregon.edu
Computing Center		BITNET:		bj@oregon
University of Oregon		MaBellNET:	(503)686-4394
Eugene, OR  97401

LEICHTER@VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU ("Jerry Leichter ", LEICHTER-JERRY@CS.YALE.EDU) (07/25/88)

	We are a relatively new VMS site with a nagging question.  When a user
	tries to  issue the command sequence:
		$ mount/foreign/write   hsc0$mua1:   MYTAPE:
		$ convert/fdl=flat80   INPUT.FIL   MYTAPE:
		$ set magtape/end_of_file   MYTAPE:
	in response to the "set magtape" command he gets the error:
		%SYSTEM-F-NOPRIV, no privilege for attempted operation
	(INPUT.FIL and MYTAPE are capitalized merely to indicate that they are
	arbitrarily selected user names)  We are running VMS 4.7 on our VAX
	8800.  The image SET.EXE is installed with privileges CMKRNL, TMPMBX
	and SYSPRV.  Should it be installed with other privileges as well, or
	are we missing  something else?  The user merely wants to insure that
	a second tape mark is  written.  If it's in TFM somewhere, please be
	gentle and just point me in  the right direction.

I'm guessing on this one:  There has been a widely-reported problem with
BACKUP on MU tapes in VMS V4.7 which manifests itself as a spurious NOPRIV
error.  The problem isn't in BACKUP; it's a bug in the tape driver itself.

I've never seen an explanation of exactly WHAT operation the bug makes privi-
leged, but BACKUP doesn't do anything you can't do yourself - and it looks as
if you may have stumbled on the particular problem operation.

The privileges that SET.EXE is installed with are not relevent here.  Many of
the operations that SET executes require privilege; but SET MAGTAPE isn't one
of them, so it will undoubtedly disable any privileges it is installed with,
and use just the privileges of the user running it.

You can test this hypothesis by logging into an account with the PHYS_IO
privilege and trying the same operation.  If it's the previously-reported bug
that is causing the problem, you shouldn't get an error.

The bug should be fixed in V5 of VMS.  If it's a real problem for you, and
you can't wait for V5, you should contact your DEC support people and find
out if a patch is available for the tape driver.
							-- Jerry