Everyone should be backing up their data, but most people either don’t do it at all or do it so infrequently that when they do have a problem the backup is next to useless.

There are several options for backing up your data, each has it’s own benefits and detriments. Here are three of the most popular.

1) Hard Disk Backup: Buy a big external hard disk, hook it up to your computer and then backup using various software and/or copy methods. The hard drive is then stored in a separate location from the computer(s) so that should something happen at that location the backup is not lost as well.

    The Good: Relatively inexpensive, you can purchase a 1 tb hard disk for under $500 (as of Jan 2007). It is about as fast a backup option as you can find.

    The Bad: With an incremental backup, eventually your hard drive gets full and you either put it away and buy a new one or start from scratch and loose all of your history.

    The Ugly: If your computer and backup drive are in the same place when disaster strikes you may loose both. You have to either carry the drive with you, hook it to the computer and then run the backup or you don’t get backed up. And where do you store that backup on the road?!?

2) Tape Backup: Buy an external tape drive and tapes, hook it up to your computer and then backup using EMC Retrospect. The tapes (not the tape drive) are then stored in a separate location from the computer(s) so that should something happen at that location the backup is not lost as well. Current tape drives store from 20 gb to 160 gb of uncompressed data.

   The Good: Allows for almost unlimited backups and archives. Offsite storage can hold one weeks backup set’s tapes while a second backup set is running. A “server” computer can run the backup so you don’t have to have the tape drive hooked up to your computer.

    The Bad:  The tape drives are expensive, starting at around $1,000 and then you have to purchase the tapes (starting at $50 each).

    The Ugly: If you are on the road, no backup. Someone has to be responsible for changing and storing the tapes. The high capacity tape changing drives can cost over $5,000. Over time the tapes will cost as much if not more than the drive.

3) Internet Backup: Sign up for an internet backup service, install the software hook your computer up to the internet and get backed up.

    The Good: Low/no startup cost. Offsite storage means that in a disaster your backup is not with your computer! Backup anytime you have a high speed internet connection

    The Bad: Monthly annual fees. You must have a high speed internet connection to backup.

    The Ugly: Slow. The backup is restricted to you or the service providers internet speeds (usually yours). This means that you can expect to backup about 1 to 2 gb per night. If you backup a large amount of data you get to pay large fees.