I have a hard disk with a non standard partition order which is likely to have to have a windows restore done on it. I actually have it the way I want it atm. I am interested in finding out if there is a handy way to back up the partition table, like I can backup the mbr.

Where does the partition table hide? 160 Gig Sata hd, btw.

You can use the following, using dd:

To restore:

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Did you get it figured out? Just wondering man... You gave me rep but never replied back.

Better option is to use sfdisk to create a text file that can be fed back into sfdisk to build the partition table. Particularly if there are logical partitions involved. None of the above is any help for gpt.

One has to wonder about what the OP is planning. If the Windows restore rebuilds the entire disk, you *really* don't want to be just screwing with the partitions underneath it.

I didn't know about sfdisk, thanks for that.

@corp769: I have & had the dd of mbrs, Thank you. Everyone is wondering what I am up to, so I had better elaborate. It's my laptop.

Stage 1: I got a disk, which was split 143, 10, & 7 Gigs all NTFS partitions and loaded with something I never use, windows. The 10 & 7 were sda2 & sda3.

Stage 2: I resized sda1 down to 35 gigs, and put an extended partition in the available space. I installed linux there on several partitions (using a common /boot, & /home).

Stage 3: I had to resize swap, so the first 2 slices in that extended partition have the highest numbers.

Now _That_ is preserved in a windows backup. Given that I got trouble before, if there was a way of storing that partition table, I'd use it.

@svg00: The idea of a text file sounds good. Does sfdisk read it or do I enter it?

No, just feed it back to sfdisk - see the manpage.

Personally I never get too attached to a particular setup - any Linux can be setup to manage any partition numbers. Even use UUID or labels if you feel the need - I don't BTW. But it's your system, so it's your call.
Good luck with it.

I'm not really attached to the setup, but I'm at college atm. There is a shortage of pcs, and an even bigger shortage of pcs with the correct software for engineering. Because of the recession and a Government scheme, the colleges are full. So the beauty of the current setup is that I can fire up windows, install a trial package, and work at home. As windows has no virus protection, uses a usb key for data, and generally lacks anything of worth, I can restore from a backup anytime in the next 5 years that I need to run a second trial of some package.