Many confuse back-up with "archiving". Archiving is where you transfer data, which is important enough to keep, but no longer required (e.g. old photos, old accounts) to an external, safe storage medium for future reference. The archived data is then removed from the computers main hard drive to free-up space.

{mosgoogle}Whether backing-up or archiving, there is a choice of media you can record your copy on to:

Floppy or Zip Disk

A Floppy or Zip Disk drive provides a simple solution. The downside to this method however, is very limited recording space and not a particularly reliable or long-term solution.

Recordable CD or DVD

If you have a CD or DVD recordable drive, this is a better longer-term solution with more space. The downside is that the recording process can be a pain as you cannot just drag and drop and that you need CD's or DVD's to record on.

This type of backup can be cumbersome, time consuming and sometimes frustrating, depending on the software and the quality of disks used.

When using this method of backup, remember to check the disk you have transferred your data to, to make sure your computer can read the disc ok in future.

USB Pen Drives

Also known by various other names USB Pen Drives are an excellent low cost solution for smaller back-up purposes being easy to use and they are also great for transferring data from one computer to another.

External USB Hard Drives

For most users the best storage solution for back-up and archiving purposes is the USB external hard drive, being reliable, easy to install (just plug in to your USB port) and easy to use (just drag and drop your files to be backed-up). USB External Hard Drives are available in pocket or desktop sizes and storage capacities from a few Gb to 250Gb + offering a huge amount of recording space. Being a plug in device they can be easily disconnected and kept separate from your computer and out of harm's way. Some external USB Hard Drives like Iomega come packaged with back-up software too.

Iggy Quazi is director of Ecommerce business Mouse2House, based in Essex, England.