How to copy a Fedora-4 system? Again!

[dsavage at peaknet.net]

> Timothy Murphy wrote:
> ...
>> (I'll use Knoppix, as the FC-4 rescue CD
>> did not run on this SCSI-only system for some reason.)
>
> Strange...
>
> Please define "did not run".
>
> In some cases using Knoppix instead of the rescue cd
> can get you into trouble.
>
> If one is using software RAID this will automatically
> be detected by the rescue CD, not by knoppix.

Booting a live CD that mounts any of the partitions on your hard drive
could cause trouble. There's a Knoppix variant called Helix specifically
designed and built for forensic purposes. See
http://www.e-fense.com/helix/downloads.php .

Helix will detect any partitions it finds on a host's hard drive, but by
default it doesn't mount them. I often use Helix and ddrescue together
with an external USB2 drive to back up full partition images of a system
before upgrading it or working on its hard drive(s). I can mount those
images r/o and copy any files they may contain. I can also mount them r/w
to fix any fatal configuration problems before using ddrescue to rewrite
them back to the original hard drive.

Helix isn't a replacement for the Rescue CD, but used together there's not
much you can't do.

--Doc Savage
  Fairview Heights, IL