tar bug?

[Dungeon-Dave]

i create a archive file using tar: 

tar -cvf <file></file>

You don't say *what* you're creating the file with - the contents. The command should read something like:

 

tar cvf homedirs.tar /home

I'm guessing you've created a tarfile containing the current directory, which contains the tarfile itself, which... etc.

 

An alternative thought: can you run tar tf FILENAME to look at the contents of the file?