(This is part V of the series Windows XP Backup Utility – Everything You Need to Know)
A spilled soda that lands on your computer and then spills over onto your backup device will destroy both, so placing your external hard drive (with your backups on it) on top of your tower doesn’t make much sense. In the same vein, a lightning strike that gets by your surge protector will likely destroy anything that’s plugged into it, so even having the backup device in the same room can offer up problems as well.
Consider creating a backup on an external drive and then burning that
file to a DVD once a month or so. Then you can store the DVD in another room, in a safe deposit box, or at another location for safekeeping. You might also back up to an external drive, and then unplug and remove it to protect it from power surges, viruses, spilled coffee, or other catastrophes. Data stored on computers has certainly become that valuable; pictures, videos, and some data simply can’t be replaced or re-created.
Tip: Treat your backups as you would your most precious photos or videos. You want to keep them in a safe place where flood, fire, or theft won’t be a threat.
You can also store your backups on an Internet server. Many options are free. For instance, you can email small backups to yourself, using a Hotmail or Yahoo! account. The information will remain on Internet servers until you delete it.
Additionally, Gmail storage is available. With a Gmail account you can access Google’s "Infinity+1" storage plan. Standard and Education Edition storage (now at 2GB) allows you to store up to 2GB of data online, and Premier Edition users get a whopping 25 GB (up from 10 GB). With that you can store almost all of your backups online, and never have to worry again about the security and safety of your backups.
Of course, you can store photos on Facebook, My Spaces, and similar social networking web sites, or use a free service like BuddyBackup. Services like the latter offer a free place to store your data, although you may have to endure ads or popups for the privilege.
If you’re interested in an online backup
service that’s been around for a while and is trusted, try www.xdrive.com. With it you can:
- Back up all of your files -- your documents, music, photos and more -- automatically.
- Conveniently access all your files from anywhere.
- Easily share permissible files with friends and family.
- Get 5GB of free online storage!