Why didn't you restore from a Disk Image?

First let's illustrate the traditional approach I used:

• Save all your installation media when you get your machine. That must include operating system CDs or DVDs, application CDs and whatever else.

• Backup your data regularly. (Remember that this might be a lot more than just "My Documents".)

• After a hard disk failure, replace the hard disk.

• Install the operating system from scratch.

• Take any and all updates to the operating system.

• Install your applications from scratch.

• Take any and all updates to the applications.

• Restore any data needed from your backups.

• Resume using your now-repaired machine.

It's a short list, but there's actually a fair amount of work involved.

What people were expecting from me is this:

• Prior to any failure, make sure to use an imaging tool to perform nightly backups.

• After the repair, restore from the most recent nightly full backup that was taken prior to the failure.

It's nearly the perfect solution, and yet I'll explain later why that didn't make sense for me in my situation.

Another alternative that people may also be thinking of is the pre-made image, that works like this:

• After getting a new machine, and before using it, take any and all updates to the operating system and applications.

• Using a disk image tool such as Acronis or DriveImageXML or others, take a complete disk image - a snapshot of the machine in it's current state.

• Save that image somewhere.

• Backup regularly.

• After a hard disk failure, replace the hard disk.

• Use the disk imaging software to restore the machine to the snapshot you took after you got the machine.

• Take any and all updates to the operating system.

• Take any and all updates to the applications.

• Restore any data needed from your backups.

• Resume using your now-repaired machine.

This is a slightly longer list, but the repair steps are actually typically quicker than the first approach.

Pros and Cons

Each approach has its costs and benefits.

The start-from-scratch approach is more than a recovery, it's an opportunity to recover and clean up at the same time. When reinstalling everything from scratch, you're not locked into whatever you decided to have on your machine at the time a pre-made image was taken, or whatever you happened to have on your machine at the time of a backup. You can install the operating system differently, or install a completely different mix of applications. And of course no planning is needed, other than making sure your data is being backed up somehow, and getting and saving your installation media.

The biggest disadvantages are the time and effort involved, and the fact that you need the installation media for everything you're about to install.

The restore from backup approach has very few disadvantages - the disk space required to keep the backups is perhaps the most obvious.

The advantages are numerous: you have a complete backup of your machine. Not only can you restore it in its entirety, as in the case of a hard disk failure, but you could also do things like pick up a single file from your backup that had been accidentally deleted from your machine.

The biggest single benefit to the pre-made image approach is that it gets you most of the benefits of cleaning out your machine but allows for a much quicker restore process after a failure. Restoring an image is significantly faster than wading through all the setup steps for both operating system and applications. Even the "take updates" portion is quicker, since the number of updates to be applied is presumably less. An interesting side effect is that you do not need the original installation media to restore an image. Given how many manufacturers are not including original media, this makes it a true lifesaver when an issue arises.

The cost to the image approach is simply that you must plan for it; you can't restore an image you don't have. There's no clear answer as to when the best point to take an image is either. I've described it as after the OS, Applications and all updates have been installed, but in fact there are arguments to do it sooner (so you're not locked into the applications installed), or later (so you can also update all your personalization's, for example). It takes some planning and forethought, something not everyone is prepared to do. Oh, and it takes some space to store the image somewhere for when you might need it later.

Why I Do What I Do

I installed from scratch, and I did so because:

• I have multiple PCs, and taking full, nightly image backups for all of them would take a significant amount of disk space that I'm not willing to dedicate to the task. Given the amount of duplication across all my machines, it would also be extremely redundant. As a result, I backup data from all my machines to a central machine (my desktop), and then take image backups of that desktop machine only. The machine that broke had no image backups.

• I don't find myself restoring machines all that often. If I did, I would likely choose a different approach.

• I rarely install any machine the exact same way as I did "the last time", and almost always take hardware failure as an opportunity for what is likely some much needed cleanup anyway. My usage, and hence my needs, are constantly changing in ways that would be impacted by whatever decisions I might make at the time I might take a pre-snapshot.

• I can never settle on exactly when, for my needs, I should take pre-made snapshot.

• Taking a pre-made image snapshot requires a bit of discipline I can never bring to bear: I always (and I do mean always ) want to start using the machine before I've completely set it up. That's at odds with the snapshot approach where you set it up, take the snapshot, and then begin using it so as not to "pollute" the snapshot with partial data or other incomplete items.

What You Should Do

As you can tell, a lot of this is subjective, and highly dependant on what you have, what you need, and how you use your computer.

That being said, there are some simple guidelines:

• Backup. There is no excuse from backing up your data. Even without the image-backup for this machine I experienced near zero data loss when my hard drive died because I have a different, yet thorough backup system in place. If you take regular image backups, and your needs are typical, then you're actually done. In case of a hardware failure you just restore your entire machine from that backup.

• If you have no installation media: take a full snapshot. Now. Without your Windows setup disk it may be the only way you can restore your machine should your hard disk die and need to be replaced.

• If your machine requires re-installation often: use the snapshot approach. The scenario that makes a lot of sense is the kid's computer that's constantly getting infected with malware. A quick restore to a known-clean image can come in very, very handy, and be a big time saver if it's something you need to do often.

• If you've never had to rebuild a machine, or you have someone else do it for you, it might not be worth the investment up front to take an image. As long as you're backing up your critical files somehow, and you have your installation media in case you ever do need a repair, a rebuild-from-scratch may be all the safety net you need.

But in all honesty, for most people who have one or two computers (not 6 or 8, as I do), investing in an image backup solution is, by far, the safest and most appropriate approach.