I saw what looks like the same problem which Petr Sumbera reported in last July with tar 1.23, regarding a multi-volume archive. See
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-tar/2010-07/msg00008.html I installed Sergey Poznyakoff's 1.23.90 tar. 1.23.90 tar was not able to read my multi-volume archive. This is understandable, since as Sergey pointed out, the bug was in archive creation. I rebuilt the multi-volume archive and the new version worked. Thanks for the fix. I'm a little concerned that the software was from the alpha ftp repository. Should I be? --Seth This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the message and any attachments from your system.
