Step 5: Backup Your Data

Backing up your files simply means making a copy of them so that if the original is lost or damaged, you can use the copy. You can back up your hard disk to floppies, to a Zip disk, to a tape drive, CD-R or DVD-R drives, or to any other media like USB Flash Drives.

How often you back up depends on how valuable your time is. If you're working on an important file, save it somewhere else as well as to your hard disk. If you're running a home-based business, you should invest in a reliable backup system and back up on a daily basis.

Most families can get by with a less rigorous backup schedule. Back up the files in your data folders (see Step 4) once a week, and perform a complete system backup every six months. You can back up your data files simply by dragging their folders to the icon for your floppy disk or usb drive. If you're a Windows 95/98/ME/XP/Vista/7 user, you can use the Backup program in Programs/Accessories/System tools. This lets you check off the folders you want to back up.

Alternatively, you could use a program like Microsoft's Synctoy to backup your important documents whenever you want.

The best backup strategy is to have a full image backup of your hard drive along with incremental backups. This way if you have a hard drive crash, you can restore the image backup and then each incremental backup in succession. The best programs I've found for making a true image backup of your hard drive are:

Norton Ghost and Acronis True Image

Both provide easy ways to backup directly to CD-RW or DVD-RW drives. For incremental backups you can use CD-RW or DVD-RW disks or use the newer USB Flash Drives to backup data quickly. This is especially good for financial data like Quickbooks or MS Money or word processing files such as resumes, inventory lists, etc.

Unfortunately people dont realize the importance of backing up their computer data until they experience a hard drive failure and lose some precious data.

Dont wait! Backup your data today to avoid such problems!

1. Know Your System
2. Make a Boot Disk
3. Tune Your Disk
4. Store With a Plan
5. Back Up Your Data
6. Keep Viruses at Bay
7. Stick with the Program
8. Keep Up-to-Date
9. Keep It Clean
10. Shut Down Gracefully

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