(Note: I mention a number of products/companies DO NOT

take this as an endorsement of these products/companies I am just using them as examples.)

If you have never backed-up the important files on your computer then my advice to you is to finish reading this post and then go back-up your files.

You may be asking; “Why is it important for me to backup my files?”.  That is a very good question, in short you should back-up your files, because hard drives fail (i.e. break, go bad, cease functioning) and it is expensive (and sometimes impossible) to have someone recover your important files when that happens.  I will be covering the various methods of backing-up your important files in order of cheapest to most expensive.

A good way of manually backing-up your files is to burn it to a blank CD/DVD.  If you are using Windows XP its built-in software will only burn CDs, so if you have more than 650-700MB of data to back-up you will need to get a third-party disk burning program like Nero Burning Rom.  If you are using Windows Vista its built-in software will burn blank CDs and DVDs, but not Dual-layer blank DVDs.  If you want/need to use Dual-layer blank DVDs then you will need to get a third-party disk burning program like Nero Burning Rom.  If you are using Apples OS X it includes a program called SuperDrive for burning CDs and DVDs.  After you have burned the files that you want to save to your preferred media (CD/DVD/DL-DVD) make sure that you label them (including the date they were created) and store the backup disks in a safe location that is at a different location than your computer.  A safe-deposit box is a good option.  This method is cheap (the only expense is buying the disks about $5-30), and is a good idea for anyone who has pictures, documents, and/or downloaded music on their computer.  If you make the back-up disks and store them somewhere safe, then you are protected in case of fire, flood, etc.

An equally good option is to buy an external hard drive and back your files up on it.  This back-up method is more expensive (external hard drives range from $75-300+), but it gives you the option to automate the backup process.  Most external hard drives come with their own back-up software, once you configure the software it will automatically back-up the files that you specify on the schedule that you specify.  A drawback to this method is that the external hard drive has to be plugged in for the back-ups to happen.  If a disaster occurs the external drive will probably be in a similar unusable condition to the hard drive in your computer.  The exception to this is if you buy an external hard drive like the ones made by ioSafe a company that claims that their external hard drives are “disaster proof”.  I figure that if your serious about protecting your back-ups then the few bucks extra that an ioSafe external drive costs you over a similar one from Maxtor or Western Digital is worth it.  I wanted to put some info in this post about the Backup and Restore Center in Windows Vista, but this post is to long as it is.  At some point I will write a post just about that so keep an eye out for it in the next couple of weeks.

An alternative to the external hard drive is the USB flash drive (also known as a data drive/stick, jump drive, USB stick, etc.) it is intended more for moving files from one computer to another or for carrying files around with you that you need frequently on different computers.  However, if your back up needs don’t exceed 16GB then a USB drive is a viable option for backing up your files especially with 16GB USB drives going for $20-35 when on sale.  USB drives size and portability are both a benefit and a drawback; it is easy to take one with you wherever you go it is also easy to lose them or wash them with your clothes (electronics don’t like being washed).

My next post in this series will be on back-up services that back-up your files over the Internet.