Server Storage optimization? How to?

Where do I start...

I have a problem, my copy of clean windows installation lasts for about 1 weeks then it starts to slow down, blah blah blah. So I reinstall everything, and when I reinstall I usually delete all partitions... ones that have my shit as well...

So now I am trying to save shit up on server. Music, pictures, games, etc.

Now to the "Questions"...

i. Is there any better way to setup and maintain local storage other than installing linux, samba server and mapping network drives on machines?

ii. I know on mac I can map my user folder to be read from storage so whenever i reinstall mac, i have fresh install plus all apps I need. Can such be done in windows?

And overall, what would be good to improve, or make better, or make more stable when using network storage?

i.
Raid?

Other then that linux is the way to go. Its file system doesn't become fragmented like Windows so it doesn't slow down like Windows. Im sure 1 time install would last you years without noticeable performance dips. Microsoft recommends reformatting your machine once every 6 months at most for optimal performance. Lets just face it Windows isn't made to handle what your looking to do with it.

ii.

Unless you make a script to automatically install programs etc by itself, you maybe out of luck here. You could try to slipstream most of your applications directly into your windows ISO with nlite.

As for improving your network storage, only other alternative that I can think of is investing into a Media Hub or NAS (Network-Attached Storage).

Raid is worthless, if you want a fast hard drive - just go SSD. I've ran a RAID setup for several years, and to be honest - its much better to jsut have a singe spinup drive. Way the heck more reliable, and you wont risk having 2 hard drives crash at the same time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sardaukar

Raid is worthless, if you want a fast hard drive - just go SSD. I've ran a RAID setup for several years, and to be honest - its much better to jsut have a singe spinup drive. Way the heck more reliable, and you wont risk having 2 hard drives crash at the same time.

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Raid is for secure storage. If one hard drive fails, your data remains on the others. Crucial if you want your data safe.

Okay so I went with Ubuntu Server 64bit with system installed on ssd and /home mounted on raid 1. So far performance is awesome, and setup seems stable.

But yeah when it comes to secure storage, raid is the way to go.

Offtopic question. I am using windows and mac and home. And mac creates some dot files. I was wondering if there is option in samba to hide those when I open storage in windows.