I've moved to purely virtual desktops. It allows me to have a 100% deterministic desktop, to rebuild without losing the underlying OS, and the ability to move my workspace to another machine without the pain.
I've got the builders backed up to github [1] [2], and with this setup it takes about 20 minutes to build a complete work environment, ready to go. Then I connect to it via chrome remote desktop or x2go. I've even run desktops on a $3 a month VPS.
I'll never turn back. This just makes everything so much easier, and I never worry about a machine dying with all my stuff on it.