Backing up (or saving to a different location) is very important because there could come a day when your computer hard drive needs to be formatted, or it may develop a glitch, as has been known!

There are a few different ways to back up data, namely, to a CD (if the data is not too big to fit onto a CD), to a partition on your hard drive, or to another computer if you are using a networked computer.

I usually use the second method because it keeps all of the information on the same PC.  However, if your hard drive doesn't contain a partition to where you can store the data as a back up, if you are not networked, and don't have a CD-RW (CD Reader Writer) then it is perhaps time to review the situation and establish a way to back up information.

If your hard drive is large enough, this is possibly the cheapest option. I am not going to go into the way you create a partition, but suggest that you ask a friend who is capable of doing so to create one for you.

You might have spent a lonnnnnnnnnng time creating the information stored on your computer and some of it is perhaps very difficult to recreate. Backing it up makes perfect sense, but what do you need to back up?

If you have been doing things wisely and creating appropriate folders in My Documents, then 99% of what you need to back up is stored in your My Documents folder. The other 1% will be in programs as an integral part of that program, such as a banking program back up files, your email addresses, and perhaps you use a program that automatically fills in your personal details when browsing the web. All of these need to be located separately and then COPIED and PASTED to your back up location, which should be on a separate part of the hard drive.

(Choose your folder for backing up within the particular program, right click - COPY....... choose your destination folder....... right click - PASTE).

What about your email addresses? Here's how I save them.

In My Documents I create a folder called "WAB"... (Windows Address Book). I then open up Outlook Express (which is what I use to create emails), and then I open the Address Book. In the Address Book window, click on Edit, then Select All.

Click Edit again, then Copy.

Go to My Documents, locate your WAB folder and paste into there the contents of your address book.

Close your Outlook Express windows down.

When you have made sure you have all of the information you want to back up safely stored in your My Documents, now is the time to copy the folder and paste it to the destination location for safe-keeping.