Thank you very much for the .ko file! I have loaded it into the tablet, lo and behold many device files are created in the /dev directory (/dev/nbd[0-12] in fact) so I think this has solved the original question.

However, when I try to use the device files the command never completes. There are no errors issued either. I have to press Ctrl-c to get the command prompt back. My first thought was maybe because the module was made for the N810 and I'm using it on an N800 its different enough to cause a problem. But I figured I should confirm its not a problem with the server first...

Soooo, I turned back to the desktop which is serving up the directory, to make sure things still work over here, and of course now the command is failing (with no changes to anything so far as I can tell... I even used the history command to recall the EXACT same commands I used when it worked, and now I get errors - server terminated connection that kind of thing)

I am now vacillating between putting my foot through the monitor, or taking the entire computer up to the roof and throwing it off. I will probably just take a deep breath, open a beer and think about it until next weekend. I hate when doing (what I THINK is) the exact same thing works one time, and not the next!

Again, thanks for your time and effort, when I solve the overall problem I'll post the results, but I think my original question has been answered... I needed a kernel module to be present to back up the device files... just making the files was not enough.