m0gely

We agree factory restore images are bad. However Windows backup in Win7, and business versions of Vista create a current image of the entire system. When you restore the image, it contains all your current personal files so nothing is lost. This requires you to backup regularly, but in Windows 7 it can easily be scheduled and is a question the user is asked when they run their first backup. The backup software takes care of this for them. You mention "when your C drive fails." I know that what you mean is, when the "Windows partition needs rebuilt". However, if the hard drive physically fails, then nothing is gained by your method. In either case, using Windows backup or other backup tools to create a restore image that is regularly updated would still be a solution. It's fine, we just prefer different methods. I just prefer less effort.

It's seams like the primary focus here is to quickly do a bare metal restore of the machine. It's a nice experimentation exercise, but I don't see the point beyond that. It's not a backup, so that's something the user still needs to do. Wouldn't it be easier to have an external hard drive and regularly use the built in Windows backup so your backups are up to date? This reminds me of all the extra partitioning people were doing with Win9x back in the day. Ugh. And why not use Virtual machines for testing? You get snapshot capabilities that can't be any easier to use. Many bits of good knowledge here. I just don't see why anyone would go through all this trouble.