Last month we profiled a tiny new 5 GB hard drive
from Seagate, that can allow you to take your most
important audios, files and programs along with you,
wherever you go.

Its also a great way to safeguard you against possible
computer crashes. Simply plug your Seagate pocket
drive into your backup computer (or even a friend
or colleague's system in a pinch!) and you haven't skipped
a beat.

However, there are a few other ways you can accomplish
this triple whammy of file portability, backup and
computer crash safeguard.


1. DVDs -- They Aren't Just For Movies Anymore

One of the best methods going is to get a DVD burner.
These are like CD burners on steroids, with over
4 GIGs per disc. Just like the Seagate drive,
if your computer ever goes down, simply plop your
DVD into the DVD drive of a back-up computer and
away you go.

Of course, if your back-up computer doesn't have a
DVD drive, you're in trouble.

So you might want to plop down a few more bucks to
get an external DVD drive. These drives hook up to any
computer with a USB 2.0 or Firewire interface. Simply
attach your DVD drive, like any external drive, to your
backup computer, and you're set.

LaCie has some Great External DVD burners for under
$200:

http://www.lacie.com/products/family.htm?id=10008


2. Small is Beautiful

There are also many types of small portable hard
drives you can purchase. Some are much smaller and
use something called Flash-based memory, similar to
the memory in your digital camera. They tend to have
much smaller capacities, but are more portable.

Others are more like regular hard drives, are a bit
less portable, but have higher capacities.

Once again a very reliable manufacturer of these portable
hard drives is LaCie:

http://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10036

You can check your favorite online retailer (The Zones,
MacMall, PCMall) or local computer or electronics store
for other makes of these portable hard drives.

Of course THE KEY to leveraging both of these methods
is to keep a current backup of your CORE AUDIOS, FILES
AND APPLICATIONS on either the DVD or the portable
hard drive.


3. External Hard Drives

While they're not necessarily portable, the price of
traditional external hard drives has plummeted, so
there's really no excuse not to have one.

They typically come in two flavors -- Firewire and USB 2.0.
These are fancy names for the type of interface /cables
the drive uses to hook up to your computer. Some
drives are compatible with both Firewire and USB 2.0.

You'll want to check your computer documentation
to see which one it can handle -- USB 2.0 or Firewire.

Both types of drives hook up easily to your
computer, and the quick file transfer times mean you
won't be waiting forever to copy or back-up your files.

A word of caution. Older computers - purchased 3 or
more years ago - may only be able to handle USB 1.0,
which is way to slow to handle the large data transfers
you'll have in a backup.

If you're stuck with USB 1.0, you may want to get a
qualified computer tech to install an internal back-up
drive, or an expansion card that will allow your computer
to handle USB 2.0 or Firewire.


4. CDs are NOT the Answer

Back in the day, a CD would provide all the storage
for your audio and data you could possibly need.

The problem with CDs, is they're just not big enough
anymore. 700 MB ain't what it used to be. With
audio files taking up massive amounts of space, the
undersized capacity of CDs can actually discourage you
from backing up your files.

Which can be heartbreaking when a computer crash
leaves you stranded because it was just too much of
a hassle to back-up your prized creations.

Do yourself a favor -- spend a few extra bucks for
options 1, 2 or 3 above, and have a solution which
will last you many years into the future.

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