I've similary got a "system2" install, though it's on a 132MB partition, and only uses 108 MB of that (excludes kernel). It consists of a very small subset of Debian, only 109 packages. Typically it's unmounted.

.\r\n\r\n

Thus, my recovery options for a system are typically:

\r\n\r\n
    \r\n
  • Single-user
    • \r\n
  • init=/bin/bash
    • \r\n
  • alternate kernel
    • \r\n
  • /system2
    • \r\n
  • Knoppix
    • \r\n
  • LNX-BBC
    • \r\n
  • Tom's Root Boot
    • \r\n
\r\n\r\n

Lots of fallback options.

\r\n\r\n

Might be interesting to compare what packages folks are including in rescue systems.

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