Hi captdave-ga!
Your quandry is not an uncommon one - perhaps the most important thing
on most people's computers is the data that they have spent hours
entering. So naturally there are a few options that will allow you to
back up your data in case one day you come across the ever-dreaded
system failure.
Option #1: External Hard Drive
We can pretty much rule this one out altogether - since the data that
you are storing is text is is fairly space effective. Even if you have
hundred or thousands of pages of text, getting another hard drive is
overkill. This option would be more viable for people looking to back
up high-quality images and videos, or who want to create an "snapshot"
of their whole primary hard drive.
Option #2: CD-R/CD-RW
This option is definitely more suitable for your needs and requires
some special hardware, namely a CD-R/CD-RW drive (more commonly known
as a "CD Burner" since regular CD drives only allow data to be read
from discs).
One media used here can either be CD-R, which allows for multiple
permanent writes. In other words, you do not need to fill the entire
disc in a single use if you leave the session open, but you cannot
delete or overwrite data that has already been written.
An evolution from the CD-R is the CD-RW, which provides the additional
ability to overwrite files and directories from the disc much like a
hard drive. There is a physical limit on the number of writes
(approximately 1000) that can be performed on a single disc.
Both of these mediums have a capacity of 650-800MB per disc - CD-R
discs can be purchases for under $1 each and CD-RW are approximately
$2-3 each.
You will also need the actual burner itself, which looks exactly like
a CD-ROM drive - prices for this hardware has dropped dramatically in
the last year so it should be fairly affordable. An external drive can
simply be plugged into your system and be up and running quite easily
whereas an internal drive will require installation but is generally
less expensive for the unit itself. Lastly, you will need some
software (which is usually included with the burner but it is always
worth making sure) that is used to burn the information onto your
medium of choice.
Since you haven't indicated your location, price range, or desired
method of purchase (online vs. brick and mortar) I will hold off on
placing information on specific products. If you would like this
information please do provide the necessary parameters and I would be
happy to oblige.
Option #3:
The final viable option, and certainly something that has become quite
popular recently is the concept of an "online backup service". In
general, users subscribe for a certain fee per month or year to have
access to remote hard drive space being managed by the backup company.
Most of these services offer free trials with a smaller amount of
space so you can test out the features of the site. Note that if you
choose this method and are constantly backing up large files, then it
would be useful to have a high-speed Internet connection (such as
cable or xDSL) so that this can be done quickly and efficiently.
I've listed some of the more popular and respected services below for
you to peruse:
xDrive - http://www.xdrive.com/index.jsp
My Docs Online - http://www.mydocsonline.com
SwapDrive - http://www.swapdrive.com/
Anuvio Technologies - http://www.idrive.com/
Conclusion:
As you can see there are definitely tradeoffs associated with each
option - if you are willing to make an initial commitment and don't
trust your information going beyond your own wall, then the CD-R/CD-RW
option is best. If you would rather make a periodic payment to
securely store your data for easy access worldwide without having to
keep track of discs, then an online service is likely more suitable.
The choice is yours :)
If you have any trouble understanding any of the information above
please feel free to post a clarification and I will respond promptly.
Cheers!
answerguru-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
answerguru-ga
on
21 Dec 2002 08:39 PST
hi again captdave-ga,
After incorporating the additional information from your clarification
I have another suggestion. Windows has the built in capability to
perform a "Scheduled task" every so often as specified.
For example, under Windows XP:
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks
2. Click "Add Scheduled Task"
3. Select the application involved and how often this should be
performed
4. Select the most appropriate times, days, and months. Keep in mind
that if your system is off then the task will not occur until the next
scheduled time.
5. Enter your Username and Password if you have one (same as when you
log into Windows)
Creating this task will bring up the program (ie. your CD burner
software) but depending on what you have in terms of hardware and
software, you may be able to tweak it to burn selected files
automatically...just a thought. This is unlikely to work for a
complete hard drive backup however.
Anyways, I thank you for your great rating and tip. If you have any
further questions don't hesistate to specify that you would like it to
be answered by answerguru-ga.
Best Regards,
answerguru-ga
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