In most offices the working desktop computer does not have any back up. When we talk of back up, people think of the big computer servers that needs a tape and a tape drive to store the data. Thus, when power failure hits the office and the UPS fails this is what I call a disaster. People think only of backing up data after it’s too late.

Keeping a backup of a working file from your desktop computer is very important. There’s no need to wait for hard disk crashes. Normally even a simple uninstall of a software could lead to system instability which makes the entire computer unusable. Imagine a whole collection of music, photo, video, email, digital income tax forms, and other important files going down the drain.

If this happens then a long and time-consuming process of restoring data from the hard drive will be required. In Windows XP there is a program built into the system that could facilitate and make the whole backup process automatic.

First one needs to decide where to store the backup files. External hard drives are the usual alternative for desktop computers. Backup tape for computer servers will be more suitable in storing data. The ideal backup location is a separate hard disk which is portable that can be relocated to another place.

Windows Backup utility has a minor disadvantage as one cannot save files directly to a CD-RW drive. The use of external hard disk drive is becoming a norm. Connectivity using USB and IEEE 1394 or FireWire would be good. drives have dropped in price lately. Consider getting a 40 GB or larger drive and dedicating it for use as a backup device. It would be a good practice to have Windows XP computer data backing up is done prior to long weekend holidays.