Microsoft Word Hardware Reconfiguration Methodology V final2

Operating system restoration

Restoration of an operating system’s filesystem(s) will generally require booting from an alternate operating system such as those found on a rescue or Live CD so that operating system- specific files can be overwritten without crashing the system or resulting in data loss. Replacing existing system binaries and libraries while the system is active could result in system instability or inconsistencies. Other data such as configuration files can usually be restored while the system is active but only in so long as they are not actively opened for modification. Restoring device files will be depend on whether the device(s) are currently in use; if so, then the devices must be disabled or the system must be booted from an alternate device and then restored from media. It is very rare to ever have to restore device files from media as in most cases the Linux operating system can easily recreate them automatically at boot-up (using the same mechanisms responsible for operating system hardware reconfigurations).

In general, most operating system restorations can be done without ever having to reboot the system using an alternate device or brought into single-user mode as most of the operating system’s files can be replaced without ever affecting the system. The only time this is necessary is when making changes to key system libraries, kernel files, and devices where system inconsistencies will likely cause a kernel panic or a total system crash rendering the operating system unusable or too unstable for use. In many cases, operating system backups can be restored to an alternate directory on the system and when applications and services can be disabled, the files can be replaced at a more appropriate time; this is the most suggested form for performing a restoration where the system’s files cannot be immediately overwritten. Once all but the system’s locked files have been overwritten or replaced, the system can be briefly rebooted and the locked files moved to their locations from the restoration made to alternate directory.

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