Backup Your Files: CD vs. Thumb Drive - What Do You Recommend?

[chefheidi2003]

This might be a stupid question..seeing as I should have long backed it up..but I am completely guilty of not backing it up..with that said..what do you use to back yours up? A CD or a Thumb Drive (flash drives..jump drive..memory stick..whatever you prefer to call it..LOL)

Also how much memory do I need..I am not great with computers..here I thought that I backup the whole program..my boyfriend informed me this morning..that I will only be backing up the files on it..hhmm..shows what I know..LOL

Anyway..what do you recommend to use?

 

[NooraK]

I have a 1 GB USB "thumb" drive that I use for my backup. My most recent backup file shows a size of 2,887 KB, so I can fit a bunch of them on there. When my computer crashed, it started with P3, and I was on the phone with them a bit trying to figure out how to get P3 to work again. They advised that I should always keep a couple of copies of my back up, just in case something happens to the most recent one. P3 will always create a new file each time you back up based on the date and time you did it.

 

[raebates]

Yep, mine's on a thumb drive in a fire-proof case. I'm not taking any chances.

 

[chefheidi2003]

I have decided to start doing some backing up..because if anything happens to my computer..I would cry if I lost all of my pics..documents..and PC stuff..I am going to do CDs for my pics..but Staples has a 4GB flash drive on sale this week..I think I am going to go get that for my P3.

Thanks

 

[NooraK]

Yes, the office supply stores are going to start getting into the Back-to-School sales, so you'll find some great deals on USB drives. Just watch your Sunday circulars.

Beyond P3, for my pictures I got an external hard drive by Western Digital. It's 500 GB, so I'm not worried about running out of space any time soon.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Yes, the office supply stores are going to start getting into the Back-to-School sales, so you'll find some great deals on USB drives. Just watch your Sunday circulars.

Beyond P3, for my pictures I got an external hard drive by Western Digital. It's 500 GB, so I'm not worried about running out of space any time soon.

Thank you Noora for the great ideas..I think I will save it to a CD for now..then watch for great prices on Flash Drives..as well as deals on External Hard Drives. Thanks.

 

[chefpatrice]

Please back it up on a drive separate from your computer! I didn't (I knew better too) and just lost 10 years of information!! Nothing the tech guys could do to help either. When I created a recovery file for my computer, it did not include the PC files like I assumed it would.
Just when I thought I was done, I remembered that I'd printed out a list of all of my Hosts a few months back for some reason and thankfully I found it!! No phone numbers, but I have emails for over 90%. I was very lucky!! BACK IT UP!!!!

 

[BlueMoon]

there are several online back-up services that are quite reliable. I use Carbonite, it backs up all the files on my computer automatically, and I also use dropbox for files I use a lot because they are a little easier to access and use on all my computers.
I'm working on a degree online and can't afford to lose any of my work. Last year my computer crashed, dead dead dead. When I got my new computer I logged into my carbonite account and restored all my files. Nothing was lost. I don't even have to think about this, it is set up to just go on all the time.
Online Backup, Computer Backup Software & Remote Backup - Carbonite
For everyday stuff I use dropbox, which is completely free up to--I think, 2GB. You could pay a small fee and back up even more.

https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTYwMjI0NTk5

both are at least worth a look.

I used to use flash drive, but one became corrupt, one just seems to be dead. I am more likely to use them for sharing files, or taking a powerpoint to a presentation or something. These two I've listed are certainly worth checking out. I thought about having a hard drive in the house, but I was always worried something would happen to crash both the computer and the hard drive, or that there would be a fire or something and they would both burn up.

Good luck, hope you find a back up solution that works for you.
Marghi