Backing up files is a very important part of maintaining a PC and can save a lot of hassle if your PC ever experiences hard drive failure.
The idea of a backup is to make copies of your most important files and documents so you can store them on another device of some kind (e.g. Hard Drive, DVD's, CD's, Flash Drives etc).
It always pays to remember that computers have a tendency to go wrong from time to time and although total hard drive failure is comparatively rare, this can occasionally happen.
One of the more common problems nowadays is the threat from deadly viruses, with some of the more serious ones infecting the master boot record or sector 0 of the hard drive. Both of these infections can require the use of software tools that could overwrite all the data on your drive.
Operating system failure and bad software installation are other things that can cause problems when it comes to recovering files from a damaged drive.
How frequently you back up your files and documents will depend on how often you use your PC and what you use it for. The average home user will probably just have to do a full back-up once a week or once per month (depending on how the PC is used).
However, when PC's are used in a home office environment backing up should be done more frequently.
One rule of thumb would be if your important files change daily, back-up daily, if they change weekly, back-up weekly, and so on.
So what hardware and software should you use to get your regular backup routine established?
CD Writers are ideal for making back-ups of small amounts of data. A typical CDR disk holds up to 650Mb of data and each disc only costs pennies.
For an even greater storage capacity of 4GB or more DVD discs are ideal for backing up all your documents, music and photographs. These are also ideal if you take an image of your hard drive so that you can quickly reinstall your operating system, programs and files if your computer crashes. (preparing a drive image will take several DVD's)
Flash drives might be small but they contain large amounts of data. Again a 4GB Flash Drive is not uncommon and will generally backup all your important stuff much quicker than a DVD writer.
If you have two separate hard drives in your PC you can backup everything to the second drive. The chances of both drives crashing at the same time are remote.
A great software program for handling backups and drive images is Acronis True Image. The latest and best version is Acronis True Image 10 - Home
This software creates an exact copy of your hard disk and allows you to instantly restore the entire machine including operating system, applications, and all the data in the event of a fatal system crash or virus attack — no reinstallations required!
With the new version you also can easily back up your music, video, and digital photos, as well as Outlook e-mails, contacts, calendar, tasks, and user settings with just a few mouse clicks!
Read an independent review by PC Pro magazine about Acronis True Image.
