How to recover with a full backup?

[Ralf Mardorf]

I'm not willing to read the whole thread.

IMO it's very simple. Backup everything using another install or a live
media and restore everything using another install or a live media,
using something simple as e.g.  cp -ai  or  tar  with xattrs.

The bootloader is an exception, as well as the MBR or what ever you
are using.

Bootloader as well as MBR or an alternative to MBR should be separated
steps.

IOW if needed format and partition your disk, restore the complete file
system using copy, tar or whatever and after that install your favourite
bootloader.

dd usually is inappropriate, just imagine you need to replace the disk
by a disk with a completely different geometry.

Note, GRUB not necessarily is the best choice for the bootloader that
might fit to your needs. I'm using syslinux, even while it's a PITA, it
still does cause less pain regarding my needs, than GRUB does.