With most companies relying heavily on computers and IT systems nowadays, any small problem could easily snowball into a much bigger problem which could in turn harm the company.

One of the most common problems is data loss which could be due to a wide range of circumstances. There is a simple solution that can limit the amount of damage caused if your company suffers this problem. The solution is to backup your files & folders regularly.

You can choose to do these Back-ups manually or you can choose to have your computer automatically back itself up. You just need to decide where you are going to back up your files to. If you have a portable hard drive, then that would be a great option or you can simply use CDs or a USB Pen Drive. If you don’t have any then you can just back-up to a separate folder on your computer.

Backing up manually: Windows XP

1. Click the Start menu and select All Programs and scroll to Accessories. The Backup tool is located in the System Tools menu.
2. Once the Backup & Recovery wizard appears click Next. Ensure that the backup option is selected and click Next again.
3. On the ‘What to backup’ page, ensure that ‘All information on this computer’ is selected and then click Next.
4. Then select where you want to save the backup to (your removable device or CDs) and then click Next.
5. On the ‘completing the backup’ page, click Finish.

Windows will then save a backup of all your files to your removable device. Once it has completed, just click Close.

Data loss can be a nightmare, but by following the steps above, you are limiting the amount of damage that could happen depending on how often you choose to backup.

How to schedule backups of your data: Coming Soon – watch this space.

Back up your files in Vista: Coming Soon – watch this space.