Back up storage systems for computer files

[HEPZIBAH]

I know I should really do something to about making back up (copies?) of files I have on the computer. Photo's are less of an issue because I keep the original camera memory cards these days now they are reasonably cheap to buy. Would someone talk me through this please - simple language appreciated. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be looking for - I think it's an external hard drive but not absolutely sure. When I start looking on line I just get confused because the adverts assume you know what you are looking for - and I don't.
HELP!

[Bullet Magnet]

What you need is an external USB drive in a caddy.
PC World have them.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/data-stor ... teria.html

The first Item looks like good value, but any of those will do, the bigger the better.
They are self powering, as you just plug it in using the supplied USB cable. These work on any computer.
IF you have any BLUE USB ports, then that is USB 3, and I would recommend buying a USB 3 compatible drive, as USB 3 is much faster.
Item 2 is advertised as USB 3.

What I now need to know is what is the operating system you have on the PC you want to back up, so I can give you a guidance on how to do this.
Nothing too in Depth, just tell me if its Windows XP or Windows 7. I'll get back later on, or leave the door open for anyone else with useful advice..

[BBLUX]

Fran and I have one each of the WD USB drives.
One comment, the supplied software with the WD drives is very poor...do not trust it for making backups.
We use EaseUS Todo free backup software. Seems to work well and easy to use.
There are other methods and software just as good, I'm sure.

[Alistair1967]

SD and other photo cards, can become unreadable over time. Recovery software is not particularly cheap, and does not guarantee 100% results. Better (IMHO), to buy a USB drive - one specified as USB 2.0 is generally OK, unless your computer supports the slightly faster 3.0 spec as BM said, the Blue USB ports, in which case the extra expenditure is justified - though USB 2.0 drives should still work.

I work on the assumption that every hard drive I own, will one day fail and need to be replaced. As long, therefore, as all drives are backed up exactly, there should be few issues with data loss.

My image (photo) files are my main backup concern. As a Mac user, it's fairly easy to backup all my drives, and I have developed a reasonably robust backup scheme as follows:-

All my images (about 300GB worth at present) are on mirrored (duplicate) drives in a Network Attached Storage unit, which is attached to my router and is therefore accessible throughout my house, or over the internet if required. Also, the images are copied to a Firewire/USB drive as an extra backup.

I have two computers, both imaged (and in this case I mean 'copied', not photos) using software called SuperDuper!, to USB drives. I have the software set to make incremental backups, i.e., it only backs up whatever has changed on the computer since the last backup. These backups are bootable, meaning they can be used as a temporary replacement should the computer's drive fail. Or if the USB drive fails, I replace that and create a new image on it. Either way, Ma'at is restored! I don't know if this is possible under Windows, probably too many licensing issues to overcome.

Apple's Time Machine, which comes built into Mac OS, can also be handy if I'm re-installing or moving large amount of files around - if I make a mistake, I just correct it using the TM backup. Also worth having surge protected plugboards, so everything won't get fried in an electrical event.

All this may seem a bit paranoid, I suppose it depends on how much you value your files. It has meant some staged investment over the years, of course, although one of the USB drives is just one I removed from a PS3, which I thought had failed, but was actually OK. I speak as someone who regularly lost time/data/patience/blood/sweat/tears, during my Windows days, due to corruption, HD failure, viruses, etc. I now spend more time actually using my computers, as opposed to maintaining them and chasing 'lost' files.

[HEPZIBAH]

Thanks gentlemen. Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you.

The office computer is working on Windows XP (another cause for concern) and although it shouldn't be my worry or responsibility really I do have (with permission) some of my own things on their too.
My laptop is working on Windows 7.

I'm sure the office computer won't have a BLUE USB port (the tower is over 10yrs old) and as far as I can tell neither does my HP laptop. (Would I recognise this port because it actually is blue or is there some other sign I should be looking for?)

I did think of using USB sticks but although they are convenient in that they are so portable I'm worried that they are also easier to lose. I also find tagging/labelling them an issue.