Backing Up Your Data: Quick, Easy, and Cheap

I know a lot of people who use computers at work, at home, and on the road.  Through necessity, they've learned some of the basics about how their system works, and what to do if there's a problem.  They know what program to run to scan for a virus, test their wireless connection, and even get on-line technical support from their vendor.  Unfortunately, like nearly everybody else, they're weak in one very critical area:  They don't back up their data files regularly.

If the worst-case scenario occurs and your computer goes belly-up, you can use the CDs that came with your system to reinstall the operating system.  If you've purchased software, you can use the CDs to reinstall the programs.  But your data doesn't automatically come on CDs to reinstall if you lose it.  You have to do something to put a copy of it somewhere you can get to it in the event of a problem.  It doesn't just happen on its own.

At work, you most likely have a network drive where you can store data and which your IT department can access to make regular backups to either tape or disk.  That's an expensive option usually reserved for large-scale computer sites.  Frankly, you don't want to shell out more for your backup solution than you did for your computer.  So here are a few recommendations for low-budget backup solutions.

CDs:  Most computers sold in the past five or six years came with a CD burner and the accompanying software as standard equipment.  With CDs being so cheap these days, this is a good solution if your data requirements are small.  A CD generally holds about 700 megabytes (Mb) of data, and can only be used one time.  You can purchase rewriteable CDs that can be overwritten with data, but after formatting they hold around 550 Mb.  Even if you choose another method for regular backups, it might not be a bad idea to periodically burn a set of CDs and hold onto them as a backup to your backup.

DVDs:  More recently, the DVD burner is becoming standard on new computers.  The advantage to using DVDs over CDs is that they hold much more data.  A standard DVD holds well over 4 gigabytes (Gb) of data, or nearly six times what a CD will.  A dual-layer DVD will hold almost double that.  Just like CDs, there are DVDs that are rewriteable.  DVDs are more expensive than CDs, but as more people use them the price of the media will continue to decrease.

Flash/USB memory stick:  The term may not be familiar to you, but you've seen the little stick that fits into a USB port on your computer and acts like another drive.  The up side to using these devices is they are highly portable.  If your data requirements are small, this is a quick solution.  No special software is required; use your operating system to copy files to it just like you would any other drive.  Periodically copy your data to one of these and then set it aside.  You might want to purchase several and cycle through them so that you can go back a revision or two if you need to.  The price of 2 Gb flash drives is down to about $30 on sale.

External USB drives:  These are hard drives that plug into a USB port on your computer and are treated as another drive.  Smaller ones can get their power directly from the USB port, while larger ones may need to plug into a power outlet.  Again, no special software is required; just use your operating system to copy the files you want to the drive.  I've seen 500 Gb drives in the $200-$300 range, depending on the speed of the drive and other factors.

Some of these solutions may seem expensive.  But think how much it would cost you in time and effort to rebuild all your data from scratch.  When you view it in this light, the cost of these devices isn't nearly as high as you would initially believe.  So take a long, hard look at your computer system, decide how much data you need to back up and how often, and then pick the solution that works best for you.  Like insurance, you may never need it, but it's a sure bet you'll wish you had it if that worst-case scenario ever happens.