On 28/05/2010 17:39, Roger Leigh wrote: > One obvious solution not already mentioned is to back up the bootloader > *in Linux* as a normal file, so the backup software can then just back > it up like any other file. It's a simple enough workaround to the > deficiencies in your backup software. > > dd if=dev/hda of=/boot/bootsector-backup bs=512 count=nnn > > Stick it in as a daily cron job and you're done. When it comes to > restoring, you can just dd it back and you're in business. > I don't think this is necessary. It doesn't solve Stephen's problem (a machine restored from backup is not immediately bootable), and if you boot the machine via some other method, you can just as easily run "update-grub" (or whatever it's called) to re-create the boot.
The solution is to have an external boot system to hand. A set of suitably configured USB keys would do it. They could even boot into a special init environment that just ran "update-grub" so that the macine was immediately recovered. Just how often is a total restore-from-backup required, I wonder? -- Jon Dowland
