Fyron said:
An image backup of a whole RAID 0 array is going to be crazily large (and you need to backup everything for the inevitable hdd failure).
For a new Windows system, image backups are going to be a lot smaller (a couple of gigs at most) which is why I suggested using the 160GB to start with for storing them. By the time Narf has enough porn/warez/SE mods to need more space for backups, a bigger drive should be a lot cheaper.
Fyron said:
And as you said, the performance gains are not that relevant for a desktop system. Server, yes. Media center PC, probably not. Gaming/workstation PC? Not really. The CPU is generally a bigger bottleneck in file I/O.
I'd agree with Raapys that games do tend benefit from RAID (faster level loads for example). My previous comments on performance were in relation to partitioning, not RAID setup.
Fyron said:
There are always alternatives that store their settings in local files, with only a minimal amount placed in the registry when you run them...Even SE5 just asks for a CD key on first run.
While there are well-behaved and robust applications that can cope with just having their files plopped on a new system, it is not possible for a user to tell which ones they are without actual testing. The trend seems to be for using the registry more rather than less so it would seem unwise to rely on file-only copying (plus this method can't deal with locked files). Image backups avoid any such problems.
Fyron said:
Would I be better off with disk images for restoration? Not really, since that doesn't remove the cruft that builds up over time, the primary reason for reinstalling the OS. Frequent disk image backups would only let me undo the changes for the past week or two.
Image backups can't deal with "software cruft buildup" true enough - there are other tools for that though (BTW I use
Total Uninstall for this to take before and after snapshots of every install - it finds much of what a standard uninstall misses, but since it catches all changes, it is necessary to prune its log to remove those caused by other programs running in the background - and installs requiring a Windows restart require more work due to all the extra changes Windows itself then makes).
However it is in the case of a driver-install gone awry or some major configuration hiccup that an image backup comes into its own.
Fyron said:
Malware infections that can't be fixed from safe mode are few and far between, especially with XP SP2 and Vista (anecdotally, I've suffered twice as many hdd failures as irreparable malware infections).
With malware, Safe Mode is no defense since it can run within it (or disable it) via the SafeBoot registry keys - even
Microsoft recommend a complete reformat/reinstall to recover from rootkit infection. Restoring an image backup (assuming you detected the problem before all backups were affected) should be just as effective (and a lot easier for non-experts).
Fyron said:
A base disk image of the Windows partition post installation and basic setup would help somewhat, but it would fail to be relevant if I ever change hardware components or decide to switch to some different apps. Such necessitates creating a new base image, which over time results in more time and effort than just reinstalling the OS and restoring the Local Settings folders.
Some people do use a base image combined with the likes of Power Shadow or Deep Freeze (this
Wilders tthread has a good discussion for those interested). It is clearly not going to suit everyone though.
Fyron said:
Interestingly, a lot of this is just coincidental to the apps I prefer using for various tasks. It seems that the better software design these apps have overall winds its way all the way to the bottom level choices of where to store critical data. The registry was a terrible invention that just needs to fade into dust already...
While I'd agree with the registry being a disaster, it seems to be getting more use not less in my experience, with features like Windows Media Centre and Vista's Game Explorer requiring new keys to be set by applications. Add bloatware like .NET Framework (which added over
1MB worth of Registry entries when I monitored it) and I see things getting very much worse, not better.