Exclude hidden files/folders from backup

[Patrick Smith]

Dene Stringfellow wrote:
> tar --exclude .AppleDouble --exclude .AppleDesktop -cvf /dev/tape /home
> 
> everything seemed to be going fine to begin within - the .AppleDouble
> and .AppleDesktop files were excluded as requested.
> 
> However, the process seemed to grind to a halt after about 10 small
> files. I waited about 30 minutes to see if anything had changed.
> Nothing! I was unable to kill the process off (- couldn't gain access to
> another terminal or via webmin)! All I could do was force a reboot!

You might try this with /dev/null or /tmp/something instead of 
/dev/tape.  Just to eliminate any possibility of problems with writing 
to tape.