How to recover an executable?

[Anne Wilson]

On Monday 23 Jan 2006 21:02, Mike McCarty wrote:
>
> I see you have some help in another direction already, so...
>
> The very best way to recover from a goof like this is from
> your backup. Given your message, I suppose that you don't
> have one. So, my suggestion is...
>
You're absolutely right.  The system in question is a new one, with no 
data, IOW not yet functionable, so I hadn't made any attempt yet at 
backing up.

> Start making backups, and start doing it today.
>
Point taken.  In my work situation (I'm now retired) I had a rigorous 
backup routine.  We had a spate of burglaries, and of course our 
servers were the best machines in the place.  They got them three times 
before we finally closed the last weakness.  We would have lost the 
business if we hadn't had those backups.

> Here's a script I use for my backups. I'm sure it won't be
> quite what you need, but it might give you a start.
> I use "su -" to become root, and I have this script in
> /root, for use by root. This is probably best run in
> single user mode, but I usually just close all windows
> and open one terminal window and run from there.
>
It's pretty close.  I'll go over it again in the morning and see what 
adjustments I need to make, thanks.  FWIW, I use a very similar 
technique on another box to ensure three generations of certain files.

<snipped script>

> I use compression, which is somewhat risky, but it makes
> my entire backup fit onto a single CDROM.
>
I've often wondered - what sort of compression ration do you expect?  Do 
you reckon you can get 8, 10 or 12 GB onto 1 DVD?  I say this because 
one of my interests is in video processing, and they produce 
notoriously large files.  Come to think of it, they are probably 
already compressed, so not much would be saved on them.

> If this is not adequate for you, then I suggest you
> investigate http://www.bluehaze.com.au/unix/cdbkup.html
>
Thanks for the link.  That, too, I will follow up in the morning.

Anne