diff --git a/backuptar/tar.go b/backuptar/tar.go
index cb461ca3..689e4da6 100644
--- a/backuptar/tar.go
+++ b/backuptar/tar.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ package backuptar
 import (
 	"archive/tar"
 	"encoding/base64"
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
@@ -42,19 +41,14 @@ const (
 	hdrCreationTime = "LIBARCHIVE.creationtime"
 )
 
-func writeZeroes(w io.Writer, count int64) error {
-	buf := make([]byte, 8192)
-	c := len(buf)
-	for i := int64(0); i < count; i += int64(c) {
-		if int64(c) > count-i {
-			c = int(count - i)
-		}
-		_, err := w.Write(buf[:c])
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
+// zeroReader is an io.Reader that always returns 0s.
+type zeroReader struct{}
+
+func (zr zeroReader) Read(b []byte) (int, error) {
+	for i := range b {
+		b[i] = 0
 	}
-	return nil
+	return len(b), nil
 }
 
 func copySparse(t *tar.Writer, br *winio.BackupStreamReader) error {
@@ -71,16 +65,26 @@ func copySparse(t *tar.Writer, br *winio.BackupStreamReader) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("unexpected stream %d", bhdr.Id)
 		}
 
+		// We can't seek backwards, since we have already written that data to the tar.Writer.
+		if bhdr.Offset < curOffset {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cannot seek back from %d to %d", curOffset, bhdr.Offset)
+		}
 		// archive/tar does not support writing sparse files
 		// so just write zeroes to catch up to the current offset.
-		err = writeZeroes(t, bhdr.Offset-curOffset)
+		if _, err := io.CopyN(t, zeroReader{}, bhdr.Offset-curOffset); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("seek to offset %d: %s", bhdr.Offset, err)
+		}
 		if bhdr.Size == 0 {
+			// A sparse block with size = 0 is used to mark the end of the sparse blocks.
 			break
 		}
 		n, err := io.Copy(t, br)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		if n != bhdr.Size {
+			return fmt.Errorf("copied %d bytes instead of %d at offset %d", n, bhdr.Size, bhdr.Offset)
+		}
 		curOffset = bhdr.Offset + n
 	}
 	return nil
@@ -221,20 +225,44 @@ func WriteTarFileFromBackupStream(t *tar.Writer, r io.Reader, name string, size
 		}
 	}
 
+	// The logic for copying file contents is fairly complicated due to the need for handling sparse files,
+	// and the weird ways they are represented by BackupRead. A normal file will always either have a data stream
+	// with size and content, or no data stream at all (if empty). However, for a sparse file, the content can also
+	// be represented using a series of sparse block streams following the data stream. Additionally, the way sparse
+	// files are handled by BackupRead has changed in the OS recently. The specifics of the representation are described
+	// in the list at the bottom of this block comment.
+	//
+	// Sparse files can be represented in four different ways, based on the specifics of the file.
+	// - Size = 0:
+	//     Previously: BackupRead yields no data stream and no sparse block streams.
+	//     Recently: BackupRead yields a data stream with size = 0. There are no following sparse block streams.
+	// - Size > 0, no allocated ranges:
+	//     BackupRead yields a data stream with size = 0. Following is a single sparse block stream with
+	//     size = 0 and offset = <file size>.
+	// - Size > 0, one allocated range:
+	//     BackupRead yields a data stream with size = <file size> containing the file contents. There are no
+	//     sparse block streams. This is the case if you take a normal file with contents and simply set the
+	//     sparse flag on it.
+	// - Size > 0, multiple allocated ranges:
+	//     BackupRead yields a data stream with size = 0. Following are sparse block streams for each allocated
+	//     range of the file containing the range contents. Finally there is a sparse block stream with
+	//     size = 0 and offset = <file size>.
+
 	if dataHdr != nil {
 		// A data stream was found. Copy the data.
-		if (dataHdr.Attributes & winio.StreamSparseAttributes) == 0 {
+		// We assume that we will either have a data stream size > 0 XOR have sparse block streams.
+		if dataHdr.Size > 0 || (dataHdr.Attributes&winio.StreamSparseAttributes) == 0 {
 			if size != dataHdr.Size {
 				return fmt.Errorf("%s: mismatch between file size %d and header size %d", name, size, dataHdr.Size)
 			}
-			_, err = io.Copy(t, br)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
+			if _, err = io.Copy(t, br); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("%s: copying contents from data stream: %s", name, err)
 			}
-		} else {
-			err = copySparse(t, br)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
+		} else if size > 0 {
+			// As of a recent OS change, BackupRead now returns a data stream for empty sparse files.
+			// These files have no sparse block streams, so skip the copySparse call if file size = 0.
+			if err = copySparse(t, br); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("%s: copying contents from sparse block stream: %s", name, err)
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -279,7 +307,7 @@ func WriteTarFileFromBackupStream(t *tar.Writer, r io.Reader, name string, size
 			} else {
 				// Unsupported for now, since the size of the alternate stream is not present
 				// in the backup stream until after the data has been read.
-				return errors.New("tar of sparse alternate data streams is unsupported")
+				return fmt.Errorf("%s: tar of sparse alternate data streams is unsupported", name)
 			}
 		case winio.BackupEaData, winio.BackupLink, winio.BackupPropertyData, winio.BackupObjectId, winio.BackupTxfsData:
 			// ignore these streams
diff --git a/backuptar/tar_test.go b/backuptar/tar_test.go
index 8be0bf34..cc2cbf09 100644
--- a/backuptar/tar_test.go
+++ b/backuptar/tar_test.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ package backuptar
 import (
 	"archive/tar"
 	"bytes"
+	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/Microsoft/go-winio"
+	"golang.org/x/sys/windows"
 )
 
 func ensurePresent(t *testing.T, m map[string]string, keys ...string) {
@@ -22,65 +24,197 @@ func ensurePresent(t *testing.T, m map[string]string, keys ...string) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
-	f, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tst")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer f.Close()
-	defer os.Remove(f.Name())
-
-	if _, err = f.Write([]byte("testing 1 2 3\n")); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	if _, err = f.Seek(0, 0); err != nil {
+func setSparse(t *testing.T, f *os.File) {
+	const FSCTL_SET_SPARSE uint32 = 0x900c4
+	if err := windows.DeviceIoControl(windows.Handle(f.Fd()), FSCTL_SET_SPARSE, nil, 0, nil, 0, nil, nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+}
 
-	fi, err := f.Stat()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
+// compareReaders validates that two readers contain the exact same data.
+func compareReaders(t *testing.T, rActual io.Reader, rExpected io.Reader) {
+	const size = 8 * 1024
+	var bufExpected, bufActual [size]byte
+	var readCount int64
+	// Loop, first reading from rExpected, then reading the same amount from rActual.
+	// For each set of reads, compare the bytes to make sure they are identical.
+	// When we run out of data in rExpected, exit the loop.
+	for {
+		// Do a read from rExpected and see how many bytes we get.
+		nExpected, err := rExpected.Read(bufExpected[:])
+		if err == io.EOF && nExpected == 0 {
+			break
+		} else if err != nil && err != io.EOF {
+			t.Fatalf("Failed reading from rExpected at %d: %s", readCount, err)
+		}
+		// Do a ReadFull from rActual for the same number of bytes we got from rExpected.
+		if nActual, err := io.ReadFull(rActual, bufActual[:nExpected]); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("Only read %d bytes out of %d from rActual at %d: %s", nActual, nExpected, readCount, err)
+		}
+		readCount += int64(nExpected)
+		for i, bExpected := range bufExpected[:nExpected] {
+			if bExpected != bufActual[i] {
+				t.Fatalf("Mismatched bytes at %d. got 0x%x, expected 0x%x", i, bufActual[i], bExpected)
+			}
+		}
 	}
-
-	bi, err := winio.GetFileBasicInfo(f)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	br := winio.NewBackupFileReader(f, true)
-	defer br.Close()
-
-	var buf bytes.Buffer
-	tw := tar.NewWriter(&buf)
-
-	err = WriteTarFileFromBackupStream(tw, br, f.Name(), fi.Size(), bi)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
+	// Now we just need to make sure there isn't any further data in rActual.
+	var b [1]byte
+	if n, err := rActual.Read(b[:]); n != 0 || err != io.EOF {
+		t.Fatalf("rActual didn't return EOF at expected end. Read %d bytes with error %s", n, err)
 	}
+}
 
-	tr := tar.NewReader(&buf)
-	hdr, err := tr.Next()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
+func TestRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	// Each test case is a name mapped to a function which must create a file and return its path.
+	// The test then round-trips that file through backuptar, and validates the output matches the input.
+	for name, setup := range map[string]func(*testing.T) string{
+		"normalFile": func(t *testing.T) string {
+			path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "foo.txt")
+			if err := ioutil.WriteFile(path, []byte("testing 1 2 3\n"), 0644); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			return path
+		},
+		"normalFileEmpty": func(t *testing.T) string {
+			path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "foo.txt")
+			f, err := os.OpenFile(path, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, 0644)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer f.Close()
+			return path
+		},
+		"sparseFileEmpty": func(t *testing.T) string {
+			path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "foo.txt")
+			f, err := os.OpenFile(path, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, 0644)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer f.Close()
+			setSparse(t, f)
+			return path
+		},
+		"sparseFileWithNoAllocatedRanges": func(t *testing.T) string {
+			path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "foo.txt")
+			f, err := os.OpenFile(path, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, 0644)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer f.Close()
+			setSparse(t, f)
+			// Set file size without writing data to produce a file with size > 0
+			// but no allocated ranges.
+			if err := f.Truncate(1000000); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			return path
+		},
+		"sparseFileWithOneAllocatedRange": func(t *testing.T) string {
+			path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "foo.txt")
+			f, err := os.OpenFile(path, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, 0644)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer f.Close()
+			setSparse(t, f)
+			if _, err := f.WriteString("test sparse data"); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			return path
+		},
+		"sparseFileWithMultipleAllocatedRanges": func(t *testing.T) string {
+			path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "foo.txt")
+			f, err := os.OpenFile(path, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, 0644)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer f.Close()
+			setSparse(t, f)
+			if _, err = f.Write([]byte("testing 1 2 3\n")); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			// The documentation talks about FSCTL_SET_ZERO_DATA, but seeking also
+			// seems to create a hole.
+			if _, err = f.Seek(1000000, 0); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if _, err = f.Write([]byte("more data later\n")); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			return path
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			path := setup(t)
+			f, err := os.Open(path)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer f.Close()
+
+			fi, err := f.Stat()
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			bi, err := winio.GetFileBasicInfo(f)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			br := winio.NewBackupFileReader(f, true)
+			defer br.Close()
+			var buf bytes.Buffer
+			tw := tar.NewWriter(&buf)
+			err = WriteTarFileFromBackupStream(tw, br, f.Name(), fi.Size(), bi)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			tr := tar.NewReader(&buf)
+			hdr, err := tr.Next()
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			name, size, bi2, err := FileInfoFromHeader(hdr)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if name != filepath.ToSlash(f.Name()) {
+				t.Errorf("got name %s, expected %s", name, filepath.ToSlash(f.Name()))
+			}
+			if size != fi.Size() {
+				t.Errorf("got size %d, expected %d", size, fi.Size())
+			}
+			if !reflect.DeepEqual(*bi2, *bi) {
+				t.Errorf("got %#v, expected %#v", *bi2, *bi)
+			}
+			ensurePresent(t, hdr.PAXRecords, "MSWINDOWS.fileattr", "MSWINDOWS.rawsd")
+			// Reset file position so we can compare file contents.
+			// The file contents of the actual file should match what we get from the tar.
+			if _, err := f.Seek(0, 0); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			compareReaders(t, tr, f)
+		})
 	}
+}
 
-	name, size, bi2, err := FileInfoFromHeader(hdr)
+func TestZeroReader(t *testing.T) {
+	const size = 512
+	var b [size]byte
+	var bExpected [size]byte
+	var r zeroReader
+	n, err := r.Read(b[:])
 	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	if name != filepath.ToSlash(f.Name()) {
-		t.Errorf("got name %s, expected %s", name, filepath.ToSlash(f.Name()))
+		t.Fatalf("Unexpected read error: %s", err)
 	}
-
-	if size != fi.Size() {
-		t.Errorf("got size %d, expected %d", size, fi.Size())
+	if n != size {
+		t.Errorf("Wrong read size. got %d, expected %d", n, size)
 	}
-
-	if !reflect.DeepEqual(*bi2, *bi) {
-		t.Errorf("got %#v, expected %#v", *bi2, *bi)
+	for i := range b {
+		if b[i] != bExpected[i] {
+			t.Errorf("Wrong content at index %d. got %d, expected %d", i, b[i], bExpected[i])
+		}
 	}
-
-	ensurePresent(t, hdr.PAXRecords, "MSWINDOWS.fileattr", "MSWINDOWS.rawsd")
 }