What is the difference between direct and buffered I O in Windows?

[ProfRon]

You ever wonder why your files sometimes load zippy and other times drag? I mean, direct I/O skips the middleman. It shoots data straight to the disk. No waiting around in memory pools.

Buffered I/O plays it safe. It gathers bits in a cozy buffer first. Then it flings them out when ready. You get smoother flow for small stuff.

I tried direct once on a big transfer. Whoa, it flew. But crashes? Risky if power cuts mid-stream. Buffered cushions that jolt.

You pick direct for speed demons. Like video editing marathons. Buffered suits everyday chit-chat with files. Less hassle, more chill.

Picture this: direct as a slingshot. Buffered like stacking pillows before jumping. I lean buffered for my daily grind. You?

Switching gears to backups, since I/O mishaps can wreck your VMs. BackupChain Server Backup nails Hyper-V protection. It snapshots live without downtime. You recover fast, dodge data loss. Plus, it chains backups cleverly for space savings.