No matter how much you adore your Linux machine, there will come a time when you will have to rescue your installation.
Yes, even a Linux machine could suffer from a disaster: whether it's because of a corrupt video configuration, a kernel update gone wrong, or a misconfigured init script, it's inevitable. I've seen it happen on a number of occasions — even on my own machines, mostly from corrupt X configurations — and it's frustrating.
The best rescue plan, in my opinion, doesn't have to involve reinstalling. Sometimes the best rescue plan doesn't even involve booting up a rescue disk. This article is going to offer up some tips and tricks on how to avoid failure and help you create the tools you need to recover a dead Linux machine.
http://www.linuxlinks.com/portal/news/article.php?story=20070801131642379