This question probably has an obvious answer, but here goes:

We are trying to restore a particular sub-directory from a single tape backup. Since I have never done this, I ran the command "restore tf nrst0a fran" to make sure that the syntax was right. This listed all of the files in the target directory (/user/fran). But when I went to do the actual restore ("restore rvf nrst0a fran"), I started getting messages like "Warning: cannot create directory /user/miller/blah/blah/blah: file exists", which they do.

In fact /user/fran does not currently exist on the filer (thus the restore), and /user/miller does. My question is: why is the restore touching anything but /user/fran in the first place? Any info on the proper syntax would be greatly appreciated.

If you are trying to restore a subset of data from the tape, you want to use restore x (extract) rather than restore r (recursive restore of whole tape).

So, your syntax would be: restore xvf nrst0a fran or restore xvf nrst0a /fran

These are the same, but I usually encourage people to lead with the slash. Makes me feel better for some reason.

Also, if performance is a concern, I'd drop the 'v'. The extra printing, and the work to make the printing slows down restore by as much as 50%. If performance isn't a concern, it can be re-assuring to see the output.

Hope that helps, Stephen Manley Recovering File System Recovery Addict