The best ways to back up your data

The cheap plan
The most common method of backing up data is to employ a secondary hard drive connected to your computer, either internally or externally. Hard drives can deliver massive data storage capacities, from less than 100GB to more than a terabyte, at a low per-gigabyte cost. When shopping for a second drive, pick one that offers at least twice the capacity of your current drive -- you'll want the room to grow.

A second drive enables you to create a mirror image of your primary one, making an exact copy of the entire drive. That way, if your primary disk fails, you can easily restore your computer with all your current data and apps.

You can add an internal hard drive, which involves opening your PC and installing a drive in an available 3.5-inch slot. (The procedure is pretty simple, if you're comfortable cracking open your PC's case.) With an internal drive, you can also configure it in a RAID 1 set-up that maintains an automatically mirrored copy of your primary drive. Note that RAID wasn't designed with average consumers in mind, so setting it up is not particularly intuitive.

For the sake of keeping things plug-and-play simple, we recommend using an external drive instead, connected via USB 2.0 or FireWire. Alternately, if your computer has an external Serial ATA (eSATA) interface, you can opt for an external drive that uses this technology. eSATA supports fast transfer speeds equal to those of internal SATA hard drives.

Another reason external drives are better options is that they're inherently portable. (Some more than others, though: Drives designed for the desktop are bulkier than mobility-specific 2.5-inch models.) That means you can transport your backup files by simply unplugging your external drive and taking it to another location.

To get the most from an external drive, you'll want to seek out useful backup software. Many external drives that advertise a backup solution as one of their features include software that allows you to schedule automatic data backups, and Windows XP and Vista have simple backup utilities built right into the operating system. If neither of these options satisfies, you can download free backup apps (or buy a commercial one).

For more robust features, look for software that lets you schedule backups and provides data recovery functions. If your data is sensitive, data encryption is another good feature to look for. Roxio's Backup MyPC 2006 not only delivers the necessary backup tools, but it's also easy to use -- and it includes spyware and adware blockers, making it a good choice for home users. Some drives, such as Seagate's Pushbutton Backup and the company's Maxtor OneTouch III series, have a button that, when pressed, activates the backup process. Taking convenience one step further, Iomega's 320GB Professional comes with Iomega's Touch-free backup and system recovery software (larger storage options are also available).

So not only will your irreplaceable photos and music files be safe, but you can also restore your PC completely in the event of an outright crash. The Professional has no button to press; instead, you select the files or folders you want backed up, then set up a schedule. The drive supports three interfaces: FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0.

For totally brainless backup, check out the Rebit Backup 120GB drive. This external drive costs more and offers less storage than many other models, but it's designed solely for backups. Plug it in via USB, and the drive continuously monitors and updates the files on your PC. In addition, Rebit can also back up e-mail messages, software, and OS settings. It's ideal for people who don't want to think about backups or tinker with complicated software. The one big caveat: Rebit currently works only with Windows XP.

If you have a network of computers in your home, consider backing them up with a network-attached-storage (NAS) device. Besides being able to share content such as media files among computers, you can also back up all machines (both Windows and Mac) on the network. Some NAS drives can connect to the Internet, functioning as a server that lets you access your data from anywhere. NAS devices are available from a range of vendors: Buffalo, Hewlett-Packard, Iomega, LaCie, Maxtor, Western Digital, and other makers of hard drives and networking devices.

More advanced NAS options are just around the corner. HP is rolling out its MediaSmart Server NAS, a home storage device built around Microsoft's Windows Home Server software. The first product to use the new OS, the MediaSmart can hold up to eight terabytes of data using four internal hard drive bays and USB expansion slots. You can remotely access the content stored on the MediaSmart from any PC with a Web browser, and the Microsoft OS delivers robust backup and file-sharing options.