Original problem:
reading a suspect tape tar cannot be killed, not even by a kill -9 from root.
explanation:
tar is waiting for kernel I/O and cannot process signals until the I/O
function returns (which can take a couple of minutes or more)
NOTE: I received a couple of messages warning of something Ive already seen
a couple of times: sometimes the I/O routines seem to never return, they
just hang. In these infortunate cases, the only solution to gain control
again over the tape drive (and get rid of the hung process) is to rebot.
Thanks again
-- Oscar Goldes
-- Orden Argentina SA