I'm currently running FreeBSD 6.1, and recently had to format and reinstalled it. When trying to unpack bzip2 files (using tar -jxvf filename), I get an error that returns,

tar: bzip2 decompression failed

and with .gz files (using tar -xzvf), it unpacks a couple of the files, stops, and returns,

tar: unrecognized archive format: Inappropriate file type or format"

When I boot up to Slackware (It's a multi-boot system), I also get errors.

bzip2: Data integrity error when decompressing.
Input file = (stdin), output file = (stdout)

It is possible that the compressed file(s) have become corrupted.
You can use the -tvv option to test integrity of such files.

You can use the `bzip2recover' program to attempt to recover
data from undamaged sections of corrupted files."

tar: Child returned status 2
tar: Eror exit delayed from previous errors

I've tried to unpack different files, but always get errors. I've also tried what the errors suggest, but still no avail. It used to work fine until I reformatted. I have an FTP server set up that I use to transfer said files from to the *nix machine.. maybe that has something to do with it? I don't know. I just thought I'd mention it. Any help with this would be appreciated, though.. can't really do much without being able to unpack files.

If you transfer the files "to the *nix" machine, does this mean that the files are being transferred from a Microsoft (spit) Windows machine?

If so, you may have transferred the files in ascii mode, rather than binary mode. That would corrupt them, since they're not plain text files.

For further information, do this at the command prompt:

Hope this helps.

Wow, that was easy enough. Thanks for the help. =)

Hmm, one more quick question. How would I go about setting the default transfer type to binary rather than it being ASCII? Otherwise, I have to use "type binary" every time.

I'm unaware of any simple way of making the default transmission mode be binary. This has been a snare for everyone using Microsoft (spit) Windows ftp servers in a *nix environment.

If you're going to be doing this a lot, I recommend you have some fun with the following command:

Wrapping the use of expect around your use of ftp can solve the problem easily. It's not a five-minute project, but it will be useful in the long run if you run into this situation a lot. Of course, it may be easier for you simply to train your fingers to type binary as in every use of ftp. That's what I do, and it never hurts.