save the mbr
dd if=/dev/sda of=sda.mbr count=1 bs=512
restore the mbr
dd if=sda.mbr of=/dev/sda
save partition information
sfdisk -d /dev/sda > sda.sf
restore partition information
sfdisk /dev/sda < sda.sf
save a disk image
partimage -z0 -c -d -b -V 0 save /dev/sda1 /tmp/sda.part
restore a disk image
partimage -z0 -c -d -b restore /dev/sda1 /tmp/sda.part
z=compression 0,1,2 c=nocheck d=nodescription b=batch V=0, one big file as image save,restore
(fdisk to partition a hdd, mkfs to format a hdd)
Don't forget to activate the boot partition
or use Acronis True Image, I have a license in my office.