(This file was created 28-April-2001.)

Some versions of GNU dd have an obscure bug that causes problems for Yard.
The bug occurs whenever dd's "seek=" parameter is used with a device file.
Yard needs to use this combination in write_rescue_disk.

For example, if you have a working dd and you type:
    dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/null seek=1
you should see:
    0+0 records in
    0+0 records out

With a broken dd, you'll instead get:
    dd /dev/null: Invalid argument
and dd will exit with an error code of 1.

DO NOT REPORT THIS BUG!  The fileutils authors already know about it
and have fixed it.  You'll have to get a fixed version of dd before
you can use Yard.

1. First, check to see if there's a newer stable version of fileutils
   available for your Linux distribution.  Look for a version >4.0.

2. If not, check to see if there is a stable source version of
   fileutils >4.0.  Check this page:

   http://www.appwatch.com/Linux/App/83/data.html

   Look for the alpha and stable links at the bottom of the page.
   Grab the stable version if it's >4.0.

3. If not, you'll have to download and compile an alpha version.  Get
   at least 4.0.45.  You'll have to download the source tarball and
   compile it yourself, though this is very easy.  If you're going to
   do this, I recommend NOT installing the whole package.  Instead,
   just rename your /bin/dd to /bin/dd.saved, then copy the new
   version of dd into /bin.  I've been using the 4.0.45 dd and I've
   found no problems with it, but I haven't tested the rest of the
   fileutils.

-Tom
