Is an external hard drive necessary for back up. or is there a simpler/cheaper way to do do the job.?

Question

my computer runs windows xp home edition,i am familar withsystem recovery. how is the back up accomplished?

Answer 1

External hard drives have only lately been used for back up purposes,before then users used lots of other methods to save and back up their data
cd/dvd is still one of the most widely used back up methods and since dvd can hold up to 4.7gb(9gb+ if using dual layer disks) and also with the development of blu-ray technology disks can now hold up to 40gb,yes 40gb but discs can cost up to £10 each,but prices will drop in the future
adding a 2nd internal hard drive is a ideal way to create a back up solution ,you can pick up a 40gb internal drive at dabs(http://www.dabs.com/productlist.aspx?&NavigationKey=11154&NavigationKey=45510000&NavigationKey=11&CategorySelectedId=11154&PageMode=1)for around £40 or less and adding this to your p.c as a slave drive(jumper setting change)will give you loads of extra back up space
removable media(flash discs,mp3,s)are all the rage now and come in sizes up to 8gb,and this is another ideal way to back your data up,infact there are linux operating systems that have been specially designed for u.s.b flash discs so you can take them anywhere and just attach to a p.c and re-boot to use the linux operating system
finally ,there are on-line storage sites avalible now were you can save data safely,you can save up to 500gb on some sites but this amount normally charge a monthly subscription
personally ,i reckon the best and safest way to back up data is by cd/dvd,as this way aprt from being easy to do with programs such as nero 7 reloaded,you can also make a kibary of all your back ups for quick reference
back up is basically done by having a source and a destination..the source being the folder were the data is stored on your p.c and the destination being were you are going to store the data
programs do this with simple procedures were you run a program and are asked for a folder(source ,you then browse for the folder and then enter the destination drive,again by browsing for the drive or disc,you then can either set it to back up once or back up ona regular basis
windows system restore is a kind of back up as windows will make a restoration point at certain times ,such as when you install a major program,and it creates a restore point,a back up of the state of your p.c at that time so you can use it at a later date
the cheapest way to back up is again by cd/dvd as the prices of this media has come right down in price
i hope this helps
good luck

Answer 2

I have 100Gb filled up on my 250GB hard drive, the only way to back it up externally is to put it on media or another harddrive. DVDs are too small so i backup the files i only really need.
Most people dont bother as they have the cd's for the programs, music etc. Just back-up your family fotos and movies. This is what the majority do. System recovery just keeps the vital files, incase you delete the wrong file by accident etc.

Answer 3

Dell set up my pc with the hard drive partitioned into two - therefore giving a C and D drive on the hard disk. If you are starting from scratch, anyone can do this in the format stage of hard disk. If not, probably burn to CD if you have a Read/Write drive - at only a few pence per CD, this is pretty cheap way now.

Answer 4

There are a lot of options in present-time backup tools. Let me take Acronis True Image as an example.

External hard drive.
Pros: The most reliable place to backup to, because it can't be affected by malware or system failure.
Cons: Can be damaged if dropped and they are expensive

Floppy Disks:
Pros: Easy in use.
Cons: It has only 1.44 megabytes of space hence Floppy disk has very small backup potential.

USB Flash Drives:
Pros: They are highly portable and they have very big data transfer speed.
Cons: The maximum size of USB 2.0 is only 4GB and you want be able to backup more than 10G of data onto it. They are rather expensive.

FTP servers
Pros: Usually they are rather big, so you can store very big images there.
Cons: In case your system totally fails the FTP server would be unreachable.

Acronis Secure Zone:
Pros: ASZ is a hidden partition on your computer and it can be affected by any software including malware.
Cons: If you have only one hdd the ASZ would be inaccessible in case your hdd fails. But this problem can be easily solved in case you have more than one hdd.

CD Technology

Pros
CD burning technology is an especially good media for backup archives. CDs come in two varieties—CD RWs, which can be rewritten up to 1,000 times, and CD Rs, which are cheaper than CD RWs, but are limited to one use.

Holding between 650 to 700 MB of data, CDs are more than adequate for small backups and have a transfer rate of 3 MB/s for 20x CD drives and 8MB/s for 52x CD drives.

CDs are portable, easy to store and carry and most new computers come with CD burning drives. CDs are an inexpensive backup media, have a 5 to 10 year lifespan and are not susceptible to magnets.

Cons
If your computer does not have a CD burner, you'll have to consider the cost of the hardware and installation fee. CDs can become scratched and unusable through mishandling and daily use.

DVD Technology

Pros
DVD is a fine choice for small or large backups since regular DVDs can store 4.7 GB and dual-layer DVDs store 8.5 GB. Like CDs, the discs come in both multi-use DVD RW and single-use DVD-R. DVD transfer speeds vary from 3.96 MB/s for 3x DVD drives up to 21.13 MB/s for 16x DVD drives.

DVD technology is a good choice if your computer already has a DVD burner since DVDs are inexpensive. DVDs and are not susceptible to magnets. DVDs are portable and share many of the same qualities as CDs.

Cons
If you must buy a DVD burner and pay to have it installed, your investment cost rises. If handled improperly, DVDs can become scratched and unreadable.

Answer 5

Depends on the hard drive space on your PC I f you have a dvd player then Ahead Nero will let you do a lot of different thinds play dvd back-up PC on your hard drive or on dvd or cdr's if you have a dvd burner or cdr writer. You Don't need a external hard drive for back-up DVD backup will allow you to put the dvd disks in one at a time entil your backup has finished. If you do a back up on your hard drive you can have certain files backed up on a time frame basis. Nero 7.0 or higher retail version

Answer 6

External harddrive is not at all required...!You can store the data in removable CDs. I can give you a link that deals with hard drive problems. Some RAM/hard drive problems can be easily fixed yourself by using easily available tools. I found the info at http://fixit.in useful. Try this site, if you can get what is required.

Answer 7

No. You can buy a flash drive or giga bank to store almost computer files.They can't get lost easily that way.

Hard Drives lose info more easily than flash memory does.
You can also get an internet drive to store info as back-ups or for transfering from one computer to another.

To get 5GB free on the internet, go to www.xdrive.com. You can upgrade to 50GB if you need to.

Answer 8

I would add an additional hard drive. You will get a lot of space for data, your music files and pictures. I would tell my programs to save its data there.

The best reasons for an external is you need to move that drive to another location, incase your whole systems dies you have your data and to keep it a off site fire proof safe location.

Answer 9

There are actually some online programs that you can back up data to. I've never used them though, so don't know their reliability.

Answer 10

burn everything to dvd