I am trying to create a multivolume archive with lha but somewhere I do something wrong.

Tried this on AmigaOS 3.1.4.1 first, then on AmigaOS4.1FEu1 with the same results.

The command line I used is almost exactly as explained in the aha (v2.15) guide:

lha -r -v9 -Qh64 -Va -Qvdf0,df2 a df0:backuptest sys:Tools/#?

the "-v9" option is deprecated, so it says in the guide, but it makes no difference if it is provided or not. The command output in the shell is:

Lha: Unable to open file "df1:backuptest.l01"!! (wrong volume?)
Insert volume 2 in device df1: and press and key (Q aborts) :

doesn't matter what floppy I put in df1, it still gives the same error.

Any ideas?

oh, on AmigaOS4 I used a virtual floppy with DiskImage Device of course.

@Amigo1

Aha. That guide sounds useful. Giving an aha moment to actually understanding the enigma that is LhA.

The guide doesn't explain fully what each switch does in the example.

I just did a test with OS4 LhA 2.15 and see a few things wrong:
-v switch doesn't exist in options but it doesn't complain either.
-Va was unclear as it said KB and I tried -V800 instead.

I got it to do something by knocking off the -v and -V switches. But then it ran out of space of course. It does seem strange you need to enter the path of archive as this was specified as df0 already. Would it write to df1 as an example then loop through tll it got to df0?

I can see what is going wrong. It isn't creating the archive files like it should be. This could be a bug. A problem I see with LhA is it has no specific create archive switch, it's only implied with the add switch. But it should know it needs to create the files if they aren't there.

I tested creating the backuptest.lxx files in both my virtual df0 and df1. But it just wanted to add more volumes. It wouldn't stop. I was trying to archive 1.7MB of files and gave it four backuptest.lxx files to play with. It didn't even look at how much it needed.

@Hypex

Quote:

Hypex wrote: @Amigo1 Aha. That guide sounds useful. Giving an aha moment to actually understanding the enigma that is LhA.

A fitting typo as I had an Aha-moment when I read it!

Quote:

The guide doesn't explain fully what each switch does in the example.

Yes, the example is a bit confusing, but all the info is contained in the lha.guide.

The option "-v" is declared obsolete, this can be read in section 2.1.10 Obsolete options.

Quote:

I just did a test with OS4 LhA 2.15 and see a few things wrong: -v switch doesn't exist in options but it doesn't complain either. -Va was unclear as it said KB and I tried -V800 instead.

Possibly the guide could be optimized here and there, that is up to native English speakers and writers to say. The phrase after the one where it mentions KB, explains that LhA can automatically detect the volume size to use if the "-Va" ("a", like in "all available space") is given.
So that mystery is solved.

Quote:

I got it to do something by knocking off the -v and -V switches. But then it ran out of space of course. It does seem strange you need to enter the path of archive as this was specified as df0 already. Would it write to df1 as an example then loop through tll it got to df0?

Yes, at least that is what I understand when I read the section 2.8.2: "LhA would repeat the cycle until the backup is finished."

and section 2.5.39 "If the disk should get full [...] LhA will prompt for a new disk to be inserted."

Quote:

I can see what is going wrong. It isn't creating the archive files like it should be. This could be a bug. A problem I see with LhA is it has no specific create archive switch, it's only implied with the add switch. But it should know it needs to create the files if they aren't there. I tested creating the backuptest.lxx files in both my virtual df0 and df1. But it just wanted to add more volumes. It wouldn't stop. I was trying to archive 1.7MB of files and gave it four backuptest.lxx files to play with. It didn't even look at how much it needed.

Thanks for testing!
I wonder if we are the only two persons ever to use this option, as the bug (if it is one) has not ever been mentioned.