Back up at least your essential files, especially those that you have created. One can always reinstall programs from a CD, or the system recovery CD that comes with most new computers, but documents, spreadsheets, and so forth need backing up, otherwise you risk losing them forever. I like to have all of my essential file in the My Documents directory. This includes the "pst" file that Outlook holds all of its information in, the data file for my Microsoft Money program, and any other documents that I create or want to save. This makes it easier for me to recover in case there is a problem or I change computers. If you do not have a means to do a full system backup, then you should think about moving all of your essential files into one directory so that it will be easier for you to back up just your data. 

Some of the older programs kept data files in the same directory as the program files. The easiest way to track them down is to use the find command on the Windows 95 or 98 Start Menu. Search for files by the extension, then cut, and paste them into the folder of your choice. After all of your files are moved you need to make sure that any new files will be saved to the new location. To do this you need to go into the preferences or options of the program to change the default location of the files. Older versions of Word will default to the folder that is listed in the "Start In" box of the shortcut. The same is true for older versions of WordPerfect. Outlook will ask you where the "pst" file is located if you move it to the My Documents directory. Browse to the new location and you are back in business. The name of the folder is not the important thing here. What is important is to be organized and have a solid pMy plan is that everything that I want and have to keep is kept in the My Documents folder and is backed up into the Data folder on our server at the office. The server is backed up daily to a tape. Do you see the plan? In my case, the operating system and programs are not an important part of the computer. 

There are a number of devices and tools available for disaster recoveries that are available on the market today. The simplest and most cost efficient are on your computer when you buy it. It is called the floppy drive. This will not hold very much data, only about 1.44MB. This is the equivalent of about 15 to 20 average Word documents. You can fit more if you use a compression or backup program such as WinZip or Microsoft Backup. Some of the newer computers are being sold with either a Zip drive or an LS120 Drive. The Zip will hold 100MB of data while the LS120 will hold 120MB. These can also be added onto most older systems for about $80 plus the cost of the disks if you can install it yourself. The LS120 would be the best option for a new system because it will also read standard floppies. 

If you plan to utilize this method, then you will probably only be backing up your documents. You could either copy the folder to the floppy, LS120 or Zip, or use a backup program to compress the data onto the disks. This is dependent on the size of your data folder. As an example, my Outlook.pst file is almost 40 MB. This rules out the floppy and almost rules out the Zip or LS120. Right click on your data folder and left click on properties to find out how much room the files will take up. 

Full system backups are the most effective means of disaster recovery. Backups are OK on read/write CDs, but they are not done automatically. If the total size of the backup exceeds the size of one CD, you have to be there to replace the CD when needed. Therefore, this and any other system that requires user attention are likely to result in infrequent full backups. 

A backup system that is too much trouble to use regularly is not use-ful. A good Tape backup device would be the easiest solution. The Seagate Hornet TR5 tape holds 10 GB (20 GB compressed) The drive, which costs about $300, can be scheduled to automatically perform backups without interfer-ing with operation of the com-puter. Its 60 MB per minute trans-fer rate seems to be about the same with an IDE or SCSI inter-face. Windows 95 and 98 provide a good backup utility called BACKUP in the Programs\Accessories\System Tools folder. 

The best commercial backup software is from either Seagate or Cheyenne. These usually come with the backup device when you buy them. They allow you to schedule the backups for a time when your computer is not in use. 

Computer hardware does not fail when you are on vacation. You all know that it will fail when you can least afford it. This is the reason to have a disaster recovery plan. It is always better to be prepared and not need it than the other way around.