[Linux-disciples] Backing up Windows machines

[Stephen R Laniel]

I'm planning to start making an image of one client's
machines, so that if their hard disks fail (as one did this
last week) I can come in, replace the disk (using spare
disks that I intend to get them), and copy the image back to
the disk.

Right now I'm planning to create the image by booting to a
Linux live CD, then attaching an external DVD burner and
using 'dd' from within the live CD to copy to the burner.
Would you guys recommend this approach? How well does dd
behave if the DVD runs out of space? I'd like it to ask me
gracefully to insert a second DVD, which it would then
merrily copy away onto.

Another possibility is that I'd buy an external hard-disk
enclosure, and burn from the source hard drive directly to
the destination hard drive, without the intervening step of
the DVD. Then if a hard disk failed, I wouldn't even have to
restore from the DVD.

What would you guys do in a situation like this?

-- 
Stephen R. Laniel
steve at laniels.org
+(617) 308-5571
http://laniels.org/
PGP key: http://laniels.org/slaniel.key