I have a server that we will be completely reformatting then rebuilding. Everything will be rebuilt exactly as it is now - same filenames, same directories, etc.
After SQL Server is installed, I could reattach each of the databases on the server instance one by one from the full backups I've taken.
However, will the following also work to make the job faster?
- Shut down the SQL Server instance
- Copy all databases, including system databases, to another disk
- Reformat the server and reinstall SQL Server
- Shut down the SQL Server instance
- Copy all files back to their original locations, overwriting existing files (would I also need the hidden Resource database?)
- Start the SQL Server instance again
As long as everything is in the correct location, shouldn't the master database fire right up without issue, and the full server will be restored to the same way it looked pre-reformat? I'm just wondering if this could save me some time.