We have some problems with a custom (unmanaged) package (setup>build>create>packages) installed in our prod org (not downloaded from App Exchange) It references another package that has to be uninstalled for different reasons. Unfortunately, the original developer went out of business. So, we on our own.
The package in question has no practical purpose and is just meant as "transfer" package. That said, the transfer package is huge and contains 5000+ files.
I made a backup of the package using Eclipse:
New Project -> Force.com Project -> Contents of package: "transferPkg"
If we delete the package and find that something stopped working, is it just a matter of redeploying the package from Eclipse (package->Force.com->Deploy to Server...) or is there something else I have to look out for?
Another concern for us is, even if restoring is as easy as redeploying it, how long would it take regarding the size of the package to do so?