Not for the vast vast majority of users. An OS or programs are by far the easiest things to obtain; modern windows or mac also ship with rescue images. What I

Not for the vast vast majority of users. An OS or programs are by far the easiest things to obtain; modern windows or mac also ship with rescue images. What I'll miss from my drive are the documents I've created, work I've done, pictures, moves, etc. Per-user protection -- such as using root to install -- protects the OS or programs, but helps not at all with anything that's painful if it gets lost.