DAT problem: incorrect block size

[Giuseppe Vacanti <gv deselby xs4all nl>]

Greetings.

Since my switching to RH 5.1 I have been unable to use my HP DAT (DDS) drive
to read tapes written on any other machine. Similarly, the tapes I make
cannot be read on other machines (I mainly interact with Suns and HPs).

I always get the error "Invalid block size". Browsing through the kernel
code, I have concluded that this message is generated in st.c, rather than
tar. I get the same error if I try to read/write the tape with dd.

Before you ask, the other tape drives were DDS as well (I tried DDS3 drive
too, without better luck). My SCSI card is an Adaptec 2940.

Has anybody else observed the same behavior? If it is a mechanical problem
with my drive, is there a way for me to diagnose it?

Thanks.

-- 
Giuseppe Vacanti
gv deselby xs4all nl