Brad Sims wrote:
I have a 300GB external HD that contains a current / with the
exeption of /proc/ /tmp/ /mnt/ /dev/ and /sys/...
It looks like you also don't have /backup on there. What
else did you not mention that you don't put on your backups?
:-)
Is it possible do a bare-metal restore using this?
Depends on what you mean. Do you mean...
"Can I, starting with a bare-metal machine, do a standard
install and then recover my machine using this backup?"
or do you mean
"Can I use this to do a bare-metal recovery?"
The answer to the first is "it depends", and the answer to the
second is "no".
I suggest you look at this:
http://www.pathname.com/fhs/
and you'll get some idea of where things are *recommended* to
be put. But as for where files are or are not on your machine,
who knows? Also, I don't know what kind of install you did.
I'll say this: it's likely that you've got what you need. The
only way to be confident is to simulate a bare-metal restore.
The only way to be sure is actually to *do* a bare-metal
restore.
If you have another machine you can fiddle with (always a
good idea, IMO) try pretending that your other machine is
your current one which has gone belly up, and follow your
procedure and see whether you get an acceptably working
machine. I went to a hole-in-the-wall computer repair
shop and bought a special-made machine for $100 just for
that purpose. I asked the guy to build up a machine from
spare parts he had lying around. Are your data worth $100
to you? If you get a $100 junker and use it to verify
you can rebuild, then it has served it purpose. Do
bare-metal installs on it from time to time to verify you
can still recover. Cheap insurance IMO.
[snip script]
A question you didn't ask (but I think you should have)
is "Is this an adequate backup strategy?"
I don't consider using a USB drive to be a very good means
of backup. Any disaster which might damage your main machine
has a high probability of damaging your backup. It's also
bad practice, IMO, to overwrite one backup with another.
Suppose you get a high voltage spike while you are in the
process of doing a backup? Suppose your hard disc on your
main machine bites the dust? How will you do a recovery
from an incompletely-written and possibly corrupt or
even damaged USB drive?
How about a house fire?
Backups should be stored off-site, and I don't mean with
your next-door neighbor. I keep mine at a friend's house
13 miles away. I figure that a disaster which affects
both our houses will cause me problems more serious than
the loss of the data on my computer. :-)
Mike