Operation successful I'll keep my master offline for a while longer, I want to try to install a dodgy new network card that ATM freezes the laptop every time I insert it (and luckily, the laptop unfreezes when I remove it).
Finally, it's done. My master is back on again on a new harddisk and new network card, one that does not lose its connection every time you look at it the wrong way. That was the last recurring cause of outages.