From: rich@example.invalid   
      
   root  wrote:   
   > Mike Small  wrote:   
   >> root  writes:   
   >>   
   >> Backing up the boot sector (mental note, back up my boot sectors) to   
   >> a filesystem -- I prefer / to make it easy to find -- each time it   
   >> changes would reduce your recovery to...   
   >>   
   >> dd if=/boot.sector.backup of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1   
   >>   
   >> I would back it up only to a filesystem on the hard drive where it   
   >> exists.  The usual considerations for backups motivating a separate   
   >> drive or off site copy don't apply.  You want only the most recent   
   >> (non-corrupt -- a gotcha there?) bytes.  If the drive goes, the root   
   >> file system corrupts or is wiped, or if your apartment burns down   
   >> then the sector is no longer useful.   
   >   
   > I can't be sure to make such a backup when I am doing something that   
   > involves the boot sector indirectly.   
      
   But you can, if you want, setup a cron job to periodically do the dd   
   copy of the boot sector to a file every X units of time.  You can even   
   choose to store the last Y copies (date/time stamped) or all copies   
   ever made (again, date/time stamped).  Then you don't have to   
   'remember' to make the backup, it just happens for you automatically.   
      
   > Moreover, I would still have to use Liveslak or something else to   
   > mount the drive and perform the dd restoration.   
      
   True.  But you have to do that to recover from a lost boot sector   
   anyway, so no different there.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)