[joe1167]

Hi,
Great website....I've learned a lot....thanks!
I have a Dell desktop with Windows XP. I want to buy a decent back-up system for my downloaded programs, documents ...everything I guess). Just don't know what type/size I should be looking for. As embarrased as I am to say this, I've never backed up my data before and have thus far been VERY LUCKY! So I figure I've cheated Lady Luck long enough....it's time to get with it and back up my PC. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thanks!
-Joe

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Hi Joe. Backing up is good, especially if you do it before something bad happens! Here is a link that will help:
http://forums.pcper....isplay.php?f=40 See the sticky posts at the top. There is one titled "Backing Up Your Data". This should get you going in the right direction.

[austin_o]

Hi Joe. Backing up is good, especially if you do it before something bad happens! Here is a link that will help:
http://forums.pcper....isplay.php?f=40 See the sticky posts at the top. There is one titled "Backing Up Your Data". This should get you going in the right direction.

[warriorscot]

I prefer buring things to DVDs as it provides a very safe and mobile medium to store my data.

[Kemasa]

You need to determine how you want to backup things and how much work you are willing to do in order to get back to where you once were.

You can make a CD or DVD of downloaded programs so that you can re-install them (which is a good idea no matter what else you do) and keep your data separate and back up your data files with the understanding that if the machine has a problem, you might need to reload everything.

You can also backup the complete system so that you can get right to the point where you were. How often you backup the system depends on how much data you are willing to lose and you should keep multiple backups so that if something goes wrong with the backup, you still have a good copy of the data.

In part, some of the decisions depend on how much money you are willing to spend and what you are willing to do if/when you have a problem.

The link from austin_o is a good guide to some of the choices that you can make.