[general_re]

The trick is to be sure that the only place you write to is the MBR cylinder, so in a worst-case scenario, you end up no worse off than where you started - with a fried MBR. If you know what you're doing, and you're careful, it's not all that dangerous.

Of course, you could say the same thing about brain surgery or assembling nuclear weapons - if you know what you're doing, and you're careful, it's not all that dangerous. But that still doesn't mean it's a good idea for John and Jane Enduser to take a whack at it ;)

[antiRepublicrat]

The trick is to be sure that the only place you write to is the MBR cylinder, so in a worst-case scenario, you end up no worse off than where you started - with a fried MBR. If you know what you're doing, and you're careful, it's not all that dangerous.

Thanks for the tip. I've never had a fried MBR on a modern OS, so I'll keep this in mind for when it eventually does happen.