Triona's Tech Tips

Everyone needs backups, but you may not have a lot of money to spend. Here are some great bargain backup ideas.

1) Buy an external hard drive
Many external drives come with their own backup software and are simple to set up. You can get one terabyte (that’s 1,024 gigabytes, or about 256 DVDs’ worth) of storage for around $100-120. If you have a lot of pictures or music, this is your most cost-effective solution.

2) Use an old computer
What good is that ten-year-old computer? If it’s still functional and has a large enough hard drive, you could turn it into a dedicated backup station. You may not be able to back up your entire computer to it, but you will probably have enough room for basic documents. You’ll need to network it to your existing computer and share files between them.

3) Burn it to disc
Almost all computers these days have writable CD drives. Many newer computers also have DVD burners. The media is inexpensive and stores well over long periods. It’s easy to create duplicate backups for off-site storage.

4) Use a flash (USB) drive
Flash drives are inexpensive and portable. However, their long-term storage abilities have not been tested because the technology is relatively new.

5) Use an online storage service
These services are often inexpensive, but are not available if your Internet connection goes down. Security may also be a question.

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