Matt Herzog wrote:
> Anyway, ever since this first usage I cannot talk to the device even
> with the simplest mt commands. All mt commands render the same i/o
> error message.
>
> # mt status
> mt: /dev/nrst0: Input/output error

Have you tried hard-booting to reset the drive hardware?  It could be infant
mortality.  It could also be a tape failure, although my drive (an old TR-5
unit) handles those a lot more gracefully.  If you pull the tape and
reinsert, does the drive rewind and tension it properly?  If not, then it
sounds like the drive itself is bad.  If it does, then the transport
electronics are probably OK and it might be just the SCSI driver circuitry
that's gone south.

Good luck!
-- Tracy Nelson