In a place of business, not much can be quite as stressful as computer failure. But we all know that it could happen. That’s why it is essential to have a “back-up plan.” If one computer fails, we can resort to our back-up plan and get back to business.

It is a good idea to protect your data by performing routine back-ups. Routine back-ups require software and removable media, such as CDs, external hard drives or tape back-ups. CDs are good for personal use because they are inexpensive and easy to use. However, CDs can only be used for small amounts of data, while external hard drives can be used for large amounts. But, external HDs are expensive, and if the HD fails, so do your back-ups. For businesses or residences with large amounts of data, tape back-ups are recommended so you can have multiple copies of your back-ups.

Whatever the means of back-up you choose to use, make sure that you know how to confirm that the back-up was successful, and how to restore your data. NICE Net Techs recommends that businesses use nightly back-ups. For residential computers, weekly or monthly back-ups on an external media (such as CDs, external hard drives and tapes) would be best. Remember, the more back-ups that you perform, the more likely your data will be restorable.

Save your original computer CDs and back-ups in a safe place away form your PC in case of fire or theft. Before you throw away data back-ups that may be too old, shred them to help keep your data from being found and used by someone else.