RSTS/E V9.7 sysgen

I believe I have located the appropriate materials to allow me to sysgen my 11/44 RSTS/E system, in order to add support for RL02s,and maybe RX02s and a few other things.... I have obviously never essayed this task before, though I *have* sysgenned a number of smaller CP/M systems, and I think I understand the basics of what/why. If there is anyone on The List reading this who has done this (sysgenning RSTS) before, and *especially* if there are big gaping booby traps to fall into... I would be most interested in the benefit of your experience. The install.log is available from the previous sysgen, so I have all the responses to the dialogs. Like (duh!) ought I to back up what I have now? [how does one do this to MS0: 1/2" tape?] Ought I to partition the drive? Does the process overlay the existing OS areas, or does it start over completely? And please don't jam me about RTFM... even if I *had* them I'm sure I'd have a bunch of other newbie questions.... ;} Cheers and thanks... John