backup up a laptop disk for replacement

[Bill Freeman]

[Ken Coar asks about copying a laptop drive complete]

	Assuming that the new drive will have the same geometry, and
that you want to retain the same partitioning scheme, I'd go for dd of
the whole drive.  This has the advantage that it copies all kinds of
partitions independent of the type, all boot sectors or any other
extra partition sectors (like on track partition manager, disk
encrypters, etc.) and puts everything at the same block (assuming at
bad block mapping is done in drive hardware, common in modern drives),
so even loaders like LILO remain happy.  I assume that there are a few
grub sectors that need to be in fixed places, but I haven't really
studied grub.

	This requires that either you be able to connect both drives
to the same system at the same time, or that you be able to connect
them one at a time to a system that either has a partition large
enough to hold the dd, or a partition large enough to hold a
reasonable number of sub-dds, or that you do the copy over the network
between machines each of which has one of the drives installed.

	Note that for the target drive it can't be the drive that
you've booted from, so it can't be the only drive in the machine.
Since most laptops can't conveniently accept a second drive internally,
you either need a box that allows connection an external drive that you
supply via parallel port, pcmcia, USB, firewire, etc., or you need to
install at least one of the drives as an extra drive on a desktop.

	I actually have a box that allows an IDE (we are talking IDE,
aren't we?) drive to be connected via the parallel port, but I only
have Windows drivers for it.  (I suppose that it might work under the
paride support in more recent kernels, but I haven't tried.)  Even
with this box, however, you need an addapter to attach a laptop 2.5"
drive to the the standard signal and power connectors for 3.5" drives,
and if you have that, you can connect the 2.5" drive to a desktop.

	I have such an addapter, which I might be persuaded to loan
out.  If you want your own, and can't find one locally, I got mine
from Dirt Cheap Drives, a.k.a. Mega Haus, at the same time that I
got the parallel port box.  I hate to send them business though:
they sent the wrong parallel cable with the order, and despite hours
on the phone, I never received satisfaction.  (The eventually sent a
replacement cable, but it arrived with seriously bent pins.)

							Bill