The Importance of Backing up Your Computer

I just had a friend on the verge of tears because her hard drive failed and she lost everything. She did not have a backup. What a lot of people don't seem to realize is that a computer hard drive is a mechanical device and over time it WILL fail. Not maybe, not possibly, but definitely.

There are many options for backing up one's critical data files. Some people turn to burning CDs or DVDs or copying the files to a Flash Drive. The problem with these methods is capacity. They simply aren't large enough to hold even a medium sized number of photos from a modern digital camera.

So I've found the easiest and most flexible approach is to buy an external hard drive that plugs into a USB port. There are many brands available but I've found the ones from Seagate and Maxtor to be quite popular and reliable.
As for the cost, they're generally less than $200 and often on sale can be found in the $100 range. Is that a lot to pay? Ask yourself this: If tomorrow your hard drive failed or your computer was stolen or lost in a fire, what would the cost of all your lost data be to you?

Whichever method you choose, don't put it off until it's too late!