Description of problem:

virt-tar gives an obscure error if the destination directory is not
writable when uploading.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):

1.3.11

How reproducible:

Always.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Create a phony disk image using guestfish:

$ guestfish -N fs -m /dev/sda1 <<EOF
mkdir /bin
mkdir /boot
mkdir /boot/grub
mkdir /etc
mkdir /usr
touch /boot/grub/menu.lst
upload -<<end /etc/fstab
/dev/sda1 / ext2 defaults 1 2
end
EOF

2. Make it read-only:

$ chmod -w test1.img

3. Check virt-inspector recognizes it:

$ virt-inspector --perl test1.img
[prints some Perl stuff and doesn't give an error]

4. Try uploading something:

$ virt-tar -u test1.img test.tar /
[where 'test.tar' is a random small tarball]

Actual results:

virt-tar says:
tar_in: tar subcommand failed on directory: / at /usr/bin/virt-tar line 246.

Expected results:

Better error message.

Additional info:

Originally reported by Natxo Asenjo here:
https://www.redhat.com/archives/virt-tools-list/2010-May/msg00008.html