How to backup important files, and keep them safe

Imagine this: you've been working on an important project for work, with the deadline rapidly approaching. You spend the entire day trying to finish up so that you can go home at a reasonable hour. You finally finish up, tidy your desk and go home. The next day, you come into the office only to notice that your computer screen is dark. That's funny, since you don't remember turning if off. You sit down at your desk and push the "on" button. Nothing happens. You try again, but quickly move away when you notice the burning smell and smoke coming from your computer. Unfortunately for you, your computer is fried. There was a lightening storm that night and your computer suffered the consequences. You have lost personal and professional data. You lost your entire project with the deadline now staring you in the face. What are you going to do?

Unfortunately, nothing can help your lost data. But you can be prepared for the next time such a disaster strikes. The way to do this is to backup your important files. Eventually, everyone faces a data disaster of some sort. But unless all of your electronic files are expendable, you should be making backup copies of your most important data on a regular basis. Here's how.

The key to a successful backup is getting a copy of your data off of your hard drive. You should focus on personal files like emails, projects, address books, family photos, or any other information that you consider essential. Don't worry about coping programs like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. They can be reinstalled from the original CDs that you purchased when you bought the computer.

A simple backup in Windows does not require any special software of skills. Simply select a file or folder and right-click on it. Select copy from the menu that appears. Choose the disk drive where you want to store the duplicated copy, right click again and then select paste from the menu. It's that simple. You may also copy files in other Windows operating systems using a drag-drop method. Hold down the right house button while dragging a file or folder. Then select copy here from the menu that appears. Your email messages and address book can be exported and then backed up along with other personal data.

You should avoid using floppy disks or CDs for a long-term method of backing up important information. They are less reliable that jump drives and are best for storage of small files. Other options for backing up include zip disks, recordable CDs, DVDs, and tape cartridges. There are also internet-based file storage devices available.

If you have a lot of information you need to store, or you want a method of backup that requires very little effort on your part, you may want to consider purchasing an external hard drive. These hard drives plug into a USB port on your computer and are basically an extra hard drive with enough memory to hold anything you could possibly want to store. They can usually be programmed to run an automatic back-up every day, week, or month, depending on your preferences. This method is an excellent choice for someone who won't remember or doesn't want to be bothered with backing up their computer.

Whatever method you choose, be sure that it works. Make a duplicate of your single file or folder, and then try to access those backup files in a different drive or folder. Don't wait until it's too late to find out that the process you've been using to backup your programs doesn't actually work.

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