jimmy@tokyo07.info.com (Jim Gottlieb) (04/01/91)
Usually when I do a backup, I go for it all. Everything gets recorded
onto the tape. But now I'm wondering if that might not be the best of
actions.
Let's take the case of a hard drive going bad. Likely the new disk
will not be identical to the old (it'll be bigger!). So files like
/etc/partitions could do harm if restored. Likewise, some of the boot
files could be dangerous if the full backup were restored onto a
machine of a different type.
I don't think I can rely on just omitting the '-u' option to 'cpio -i',
since some of these files have bogus dates on them (Apr 13 1990 on ISC
2.2).
Is it best to be selective of what I back up? Here's what I figure I
should back up from the root filesystem. Advice is welcome.
/etc/conf
/etc/passwd
/etc/shadow
/etc/hosts
/etc/dumpsave ('cause I modified it)
/etc/profile
/unix
/etc/inittab
/etc/default
/dev
/etc/init.d
/etc/rc0.d
/etc/rc2.d
/etc/rc3.d
/bin
/lib
I also find it a good idea to keep a copy of my /etc/conf hierarchy on
floppies so that I can get a new kernel with tape (and anything else
out of the norm) support quickly built after loading into a new
machine or new disk.