[Ferrante]

I am using Mozy as a backup source, but is online backup really worth the monthly expense for the typical home user? Would it be better to backup evrything I want to an external hard drive or is there a program that might be a better approach? Like most people, I have lots of pics, music (Itunes) stuff like that. Is taking an image the way to go or does doing so also copy any problems one may be having with the operating system? Please know your help is appreciated and I hope I am posting in the right forum. Thanks!

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I use two separate external drives to keep backups of my files, and i do the backups manually.
Any problems with the OS are not backed up with those files in any way, although a Windows problem might make backing up more difficult, especially when attempting to back up a large number of files in one go. So make sure Windows is working properly before you start backing up.

[phillipcorcoran]

I use two separate external drives to keep backups of my files, and i do the backups manually.
Any problems with the OS are not backed up with those files in any way, although a Windows problem might make backing up more difficult, especially when attempting to back up a large number of files in one go. So make sure Windows is working properly before you start backing up.

[Digerati]

First - I applaud you actually doing backups. Most of know we should but don't.

but is online backup really worth the monthly expense for the typical home user? Would it be better to backup evrything I want to an external hard drive

Would it be better? Only you can answer that. A backup plan is an insurance plan. And the best insurance is custom designed to work best for your particular circumstances. No one wants to spend money on insurance, but when you need it, you want the best policy out there that works best for your situation.

On line is great for many reasons - two in particular. (1) It is off-site. So if your house burns downs, is flooded, or a fake moving company empties your house of all your stuff, you still have a backup of all your data. (2) If you are on the other side of the world, you have access to your data.

The biggest disadvantage to on-line is you must have a working, networked computer to access it.