Extract NT Backup Files in Linux Using mtftar
Posted by admin on January 26, 2008 under Tech Tips | 
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If you would like to extract the contents of an NT backup (.bkf) file in Linux, mtftar is a utility that translates a Microsoft Tape Format (MTF) stream into the tar format. You can pick up mtftar from the authors site at http://gpl.internetconnection.net.
To get started, download the source code and compile.
$ wget http://gpl.internetconnection.net/files/mtftar.tar.gz $ tar zxfv mtftar.tar.gz $ cd mtftar $ make $ sudo cp mtftar /usr/bin/ - or - $ su -c "cp mtftar /usr/bin/"
Using this utility is straight forward, as shown in the following example.
$ mtftar < MyBackup.bkf | tar xvf - C: C:/Stuff/Pictures/Misc Family Photos C:/Stuff/Pictures/Misc Family Photos/First Bikes C:/Stuff/Pictures/Misc Family Photos/First Bikes/First Bikes 001.jpg C:/Stuff/Pictures/Misc Family Photos/First Bikes/First Bikes 002.jpg C:/Stuff/Pictures/Misc Family Photos/First Bikes/First Bikes 003.jpg C:/Stuff/Pictures/Misc Family Photos/First Bikes/First Bikes 004.jpg C:/Stuff/Pictures/Misc Family Photos/First Bikes/First Bikes 005.jpg
An alternate mtf reader for Linux can be found here at http://laytongraphics.com/mtf/. The site also references a PDF written by Seagate that describes the MTF format if you’re interested.
