On Mon, 2006-12-11 at 16:23 -0600, Mike McCarty wrote:
> David-Paul Niner wrote:
> > Quoting Mike McCarty <Mike.McCarty@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> >
> >> Aaron Konstam wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Sun, 2006-12-10 at 07:01 +0530, Vivek J. Patankar wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> On 12/10/06, Hadders <fedora@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> I'm going to install Vista (dual-boot) and was wondering if it was
> >>>>> easy
> >>>>> to just back it up rather than running grub?
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> # dd if=/dev/hda of=/path/filename bs=512 count=1
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> No, No, NO. The MBR is only the first 446 bytes of block 0. The rest is
> >>> the partition table. I assume you don't want to rewrite the partition
> >>> table.
> >>
> >>
> >> The MBR is the Master Boot Record, which is 512 bytes long
This is both true and not true. It is true that the whole 512 bytes is
called the MBR but if we mean what gnome-install updates as the MBR only
446 bytes are in this MBR.
> >> The MBR comprises three parts
> >>
> >> 1. Code
> >> 2. Partition Table
> >> 3. Boot Record Marker (AA 55)
> >>
> >> No part of the MBR may be read or written without reading
> >> or writing all of it. Discs are, after all, BLOCK DEVICES
> >> which cannot transfer any amount less than a block (sector).
It is true thast disks are block devices but are you saying:
dd if=/dev/hda of=/path/filename bs=446 count=1 will not put 446 bytes
into the file. And what does fdisk do when you do a write. What part of
the 512 byte block does it change.
> >>
> >> I don't like to presume about what other people do. (BTW, you
> >> might investigate the difference in meaning between "assume",
> >> and "presume".) If he states he wants to save and restore his
> >> MBR, then I answer accordingly. If I have a question about what
> >> his goals are, then I ask.
> >>
> >> If you are going to give such strong corrections and advice, you
> >> ought at least to be correct.
> >>
> >> Saving the MBR should be done in its entirety. Whether one wants
> >> to preserve the PT portion of the MBR when rewriting it on disc
> >> later is a decision to be made at that time. Not saving the original
> >> PT portion of the MBR is folly.
> >>
Why exactly is it folly?
>
> When somebody states "No" four times in a row, and then gives incorrect
> data and actually bad advice, he needs to have his wrist slapped. I
> wasn't correcting *words*. I was correcting bad information and bad
> advice.
>
> Recommending not saving the entire MBR is BAD ADVICE, which he
> based on INCORRECT INFORMATION.
What incorrect information is it based on?
>
> Advising someone not to back up the entire MBR, based on the
> misinformation that the PT is not part of it, is foolish.
>
> Mike
> --
> p="p=%c%s%c;main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}";main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}
> This message made from 100% recycled bits.
> You have found the bank of Larn.
> I can explain it for you, but I can't understand it for you.
> I speak only for myself, and I am unanimous in that!
>
--
=======================================================================
An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because
people refuse to see it. -- James Michener, "Space"
=======================================================================
Aaron Konstam telephone: (210) 656-0355 e-mail: akonstam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
