Back it Up: the Best Way to Save Your Computer`s Information
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Anyone who has ever experienced a computer crash has been through a full gamut of emotions: anger, fear, worry…and finally, grief when something gets lost. Work, games, pictures, music, movies - all those things you’ve got on your computer could all be gone in one single crash. Don’t trust these mercurial machines we call computers. If you want to keep it, you’d better back it up!
Exploring the Options
Some people work on their computers every single day, while others may add new items to their machines far less often. Whenever you add anything new to your computer -- be it a document, a video file, a new picture, whatever -- you should back it up. It's a good idea to use a single, simple method for backing up your work. Have a system that's easy for you, and backing up your computer stops being such a chore. Explore your back up options to find out what suits your style.
Zip Drives
External zip drives are widely available, and thus very easy to find for purchase. Usually weighing less than eight pounds and measuring fewer than six inches in length and width, zip drives store your information very quickly onto accompanying zip disks. Zip disks hold a massive amount of information -- often in the 100MB to 250MB range. These small drives range greatly in price; you can often buy a used zip drive for as little as ten dollars, or pay well over two hundred for a brand-new device.
How to use: If your computer is equipped with an internal zip drive, you will see this drive listed along with the others available on your machine (the main drive is commonly labeled C, the CD drive D, and so on). Open up the file for this zip drive directory. Next, open up a window to display the files you want to copy, and simply move one to the other.
If you are using an external zip drive, the backup process is only a little different. First, it will be necessary to connect the zip drive to your computer. Most newer zip drives connect via USB port. Once you've got your zip drive plugged in, your computer should automatically recognize it as a new drive (the computer will assign a new letter to denote this new drive).
Make sure the zip drive itself is equipped with a zip drive disk to write the data on. Select the files you want to copy, select copy, and then paste these files into the folder for the zip drive. Depending on how much you're copying at once, this process could take several minutes. If the zip drive's disk gets too full, a prompt will appear telling you to insert a new disk.
Next: Floppy Disks (yes, they're still around) >>
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