[ale] using dd to backup MsWin partition from linux?

[Christopher Bergeron]

Hey guys, I just had a neato idea and I'm wondering if it could work:

Could I have a dual-boot Win98/Linux box and use 'dd' under linux to make a
copy of the windows partition to a linux image file and then subsequently
kill the windows install (in some fun way... I'm sure I'll think of
something) and re-construct it back to it's original state using dd again?
It sounds silly, but since Win tends to need to be re-installed
periodically, could I make an image of it while it works and magically copy
it back to the HD when it starts to fail (or one of my users kills it)?

The goal is to have a windows setup that can be completely tampered with,
yet easily restored using the dd image (from the linux partition)?  On a per
machine basis; such that an image from one machine IS NOT expected to work
on a DIFFERENT machine.

Has anyone done this and can anyone provide any caveats, experiences, etc,
before I try it?

Thanks,
CB


P.S.
If this email is repetitive I apologize in advance, I wanted to make my
objective crystal clear to avoid any errant replies.  I always seem to get
one totally unrelated, "So you want to use dd to Reinstall Linux over
Windows using an X10 module while not booting from lilo?" type response.
Let the jokes pour in...


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