I don't know what "restore gen or gem backupset" is, but I used:

dsmc restore backupset backupsetname.xxxxxxxx
"\\server\d$\directories\subdirectory\another subdir\and another\really long
file name so the whole path requires quotes.xls" c:\temp\

This normally works with no other -switches.

My problem is that it starts the restore by building the folders in the
c:\temp and then hangs, I've waited 28 hours before canceling. I can use the
same line with *.xls and it starts to restore some of the other Excel files
from the backupset but stops when it reaches the specific file that I need.

My question is this, is there any other switch that I can use to create a
log or watch file so I can get more information on the restore backupset
job? Or is there something else that I can try assuming that the tape has a
bad spot or section on it?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark