Some of this information may seem overly involved, however we thought all of it was necessary for the discussion.  Microsoft has a good article on backing up, click here

Backup your data - often! 

Before proceeding:

• GoBack, Windows ME and XP "System Restore" should not be relied upon for data backup!  With these, you cannot pick and choose what to backup/restore and they use the computer's drive as the destination! More later...
• When doing a backup, don't bother backing up applications or the operating system as most must be reinstalled and cannot be restored.  This is due to the fact that when originally installed, most applications add files to many different folders including the Windows and Windows\System folders, additionally there are registry entries that may be date sensitive.  Restoring files there could cause a general system failure. 
  • On the other hand, older DOS based applications can probably be backed up then restored.  More later...
• Applications such as accounting programs offer built-in backup capabilities.  This type of backup is generally designed to make a backup to floppy drives but may be able to utilize other devices.  Of course, this backs up only that specific application's data.

Some applications now have built-in, "automatic" backups.  When you open a document, the application creates a duplicate of that particular document before you begin working with it. 

• Microsoft Word for example (if the option is enabled) will make a duplicate file with a name like ~W1234 or ~$filename.  These are hidden files and (should be) automatically deleted when you successfully save and close.
• Quicken, CorelDraw and many other applications make a simpler backup of filename.BAK.  They do not hide these file nor do they automatically try to recover them but none the less, a backup is available.

You can also make your own backups before working with most any data file.  This is good idea if you are experimenting with data: 

• Using the Windows Explorer (My Computer), find the file of interest, right click, drag and drop to the same folder.  This creates a second file named "Copy of Filename."  
• Open the application, e.g, Word, then open a document but before you do any work, "Save As" and give the file a new name.  Doing so effectively closes the original file and allows you to edit this new, second document..

 But none of these are the type of backup we are addressing here.  We want you to backup to a different device, not the computer's hard drive!

The above mentioned backup processes use the computer's hard drive as the destination, but some day your computer's hard drive will fail, it's just a matter of time!  Because these backups are on the computer's drive, all of your data including these backup files will be lost.

Drive failure

This is the reason you need to backup your data.

Drive failure is not exclusive to PCs, specific computers, manufacturers or even certain uses of a computer. Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) are mechanical devices and like any mechanical device, they have a maximum life span. Western Digital for example, rates their drives for a life span of five years but offer a maximum extended warranty of only three years.  (That should tell you something.)

Over the previous decade of servicing computers it has been our experience that HDDs will fail within the first few months of owning a new computer or shortly after the fourth year (Laptops are more unpredictable.) So it has always been our recommendation to replace any "necessary" computer every four years. This is especially important for businesses!

Typically HDDs fail during the boot process and in many cases, without any prior notice**. It doesn't seem to matter if your computer is always on, or if you shut down each night. However, power surges and brownouts significantly lower the life span of computer components.  But enough said about that...

** If you ever get a boot message indicating a problem with the drive or see an "error reading or writing to drive C:", that is a warning that should not be ignored!!!

Because this is such a huge subject, we have broken it into multiple files:

• Before it is necessary to restore.
• Determine what/where your data is.
• Hardware required.
  • Floppy drive.
  • Tape backup.
  • CD Backup.
  • HDD backup.
  • Web based.
• Methods.
• The Process.
  • MSBackup.
  • Veritas and other third party software.
  • Burning CD's with Windows XP.
• Restoring.
  • Testing your backup.
  • Special information regarding databases and accounting data.
  • Disaster Recovery.