Partitions, MBR, etc.

[Rick]

Thanks for your suggestions.

--- "Mark K. Kim" <markslist at cbreak.org> wrote:
> On Fri, 9 Aug 2002, Rick wrote:
> 
> > Q 1.  Is there a simple way to backup and
> > restore the MBR, using floppy, to stave off
> > potential disaster?
> 
> What do you mean by restore the MBR?  Restore to LILO or Windows
> default?

Since I don't know much about fdisk, and fear that a slip will trash
the system, the idea is to provide a way to back up to the 
original state.
i.e. backup the MBR (and partition info.) to floppy;
run fdisk; then be able to restore the original MBR (and partition
info.) if necessary.
> 
> To restore to Windows default, get a floppy, format it under Windows
> with
> the "transfer system files" option.  Copy over FDISK.EXE from
> "c:\windows\command" (under Win95, Win98, and WinMe; search for
> FDISK.EXE
> on other Windows) to the floppy.  If something goes wrong, boot with
> the
> floppy, and type "fdisk /mbr".  You'll be right back to being able to
> boot
> Windows.

No, I don't care about Windows...
> 
> To restore to LILO, it's best to get a bootable Linux rescue CD.
> You can use it to switch over to your hard drive's Linux system, then
> reinstall LILO.  The process I use is something like this:
> 
>    1. Use bootable Linux CD to boot into Linux.
>    2. Mount the hard drive's root Linux partition.
>    3. Chroot to make the hard drive's root Linux partition into the
>       effective root.
>    4. Run `lilo`.
> 
Thanks, this sounds more like what I needed.  Is it functionally
equivalent to the backup/restore described above?
Are special options needed as parameters for lilo?

I've never seen a bootable Linux rescue CD.  Are you referring to
something like Knoppix 3.1, which has been mentioned here recently?
Or, where could I get such a critter?

> ==8<--
> > Q 2.  Using fdisk, if hda5 is deleted,
> > hda6,7,8 are renumbered as hda5,6,7.
> > If this is written back to the MBR, my guess is that
> > LILO and RH v.7.3 will no longer work?
> 
> You'll need to modify /etc/lilo.conf and rerun lilo.  You'll also
> want to
> modify /etc/fstab.
> 
> ==8<--
> > The number of blocks reported has changed,
> > in particular for hda6.
> > If this is written back to the MBR will it continue to work?
> 
> It's probably okay, but I don't recommend modifying working
> partitions.
> Do it from a bootable Linux CD just to be safe.
> 
> > Q 4.  Can hda7 be used as swap for multiple linux distributions,
> > or does each distribution need a dedicated swap partition?
> 
> I believe it's okay to share the swap partition.  Never had problems
> in
> the past for me.  But I haven't done it in a long time so your
> mileage may
> vary.
> 
> > Q 5.  Should I reserve a bunch of small partitions below the
> > "1024 cylinder barrier" (like hda9,10), to provide a boot point
> > for potential future distributions?
> > How large do they need to be?
> 
> No need.  You just need one spot where you can install LILO.  Once it
> goes
> into LILO, LILO can boot a Linux kernel anywhere on your hardware. 
> Just
> make sure you use the lba32 option in /etc/lilo.conf, and make sure
> you
> use the newer version of LILO that has overcome the 1024 cylinder
> problem.
> 
> Another way to look at this problem is, if you install LILO in MBR,
> then
> there's no need to worry about it.  Just make sure you use the
> "lba32"
> option in /etc/lilo.conf.
> 
> > Let me know if you foresee any other gotcha's!
> 
> Some partitions you can share between distributions.  /home is a
> relatively safe one to share, and so is swap.  Others you probably
> shouldn't, though, if you wanna get the full effect of each
> distribution.
> 
> -Mark
> 
> --
> Mark K. Kim
> http://www.cbreak.org/
> PGP key available upon request.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 


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