Best Method to Back-Up Data?

Computers are very powerful machines. They are without doubt one of the greatest inventions of the last century. They leverage the fantastic computational power of processors to run a variety of customised software that make doing any task faster and more efficient. Information technology has completely changed the way work is done in the modern economy. With digital machines, things have become much easier, convenient and faster than any time in the last thousands of years.
All computers in the course of their operation generate a large amount of data. They need a space where this data can be stored and later quickly accessed for further processing. A variety of data storage devices have been developed over the years. These use different technologies to store data.
The main storage device in computers is the hard disk that can store up to 500 GB of data. No other device can match it in terms of capacity, speed of data access and ease of use. Other storage media include CDs, DVDs, pen drives and memory cards, but their capacity is insignificant when compared to a hard disk.
The data that computers generate and process is volatile, that is, there is nothing permanent about it like, say, a paper file. Digital devices store data as patterns on a magnetic surface (like in a hard disk or floppy drive), as electric charge (like in a memory card), or as a pattern of pits (like in a CD or DVD).
Because this data is volatile, it has its benefits. It can be easily modified and overwritten with newer data. It can be deleted at the press of a button, moved from one location to another or copied to another storage media. On the other hand, the volatility of data has one severe disadvantage – it can all vanish in a second without a trace. This data loss can happen due to a variety of factors, main ones of which are hardware or software errors.
Hardware errors include instances where there is a problem with the physical aspects of the device. In the case of a hard drive, things like controller card, circuit board, read / write head may develop a fault. The CDs or DVDs may crack and bend or their pit pattern may get corrupted due to exposure to a heat source.
Software errors make a device unreadable even though it may have perfectly working hardware. This may happen due to deletion of file partitions, accidental deletion of files by the user, reformatting of hard disk, corrupted file systems or a virus attack.
Because of the volatile nature of digital data and how easy it is to lose it entirely, it is essential that a complete backup is taken of important files on suitable media.
There is a vast range of data backup devices available in the market which cater to the needs of every user. The main backup storage media include the following:
Rewritable Compact Discs (CDs): These have a storage capacity of about 700 MB, which is not large by any standards. Still, these are great for individual computer or digital camera users to take backups of email messages, photos, text files, spreadsheets and presentations.
Rewritable Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs): These are more powerful version of CDs, with a storage capacity of 4.6 GB, which is an enormous improvement. These can hold full-fledged video files, hundreds of text files, graphics, engineering drawings and other data. They are quite durable and cheap, and one of the best data backup products available for individuals.
Tape Drives: These store data on a long magnetic tape that is wound on a couple of spools that are enclosed in a plastic cartridge. Typically, these have a capacity of about 20 GB. Tape drives have for a long time been a media of choice for companies to hold their archives and data backup for a long period of time because of their reliability and low cost.
Portable Hard Disks: These stand-alone hard disks come with all the benefits of regular hard disks fitted inside computers. They have a capacity of as much as 240 GB. They offer very fast data access because the read / write head can read any part of the disk immediately, unlike tape drives where the entire tape has to move back and forth to access particular data.
The data backup media that you require really depends on your needs and how large is the amount of data that you want to store. For home users and individuals, CDs and DVDs make great and very cheap data backup tools. These can hold almost all data that is generated everyday by a typical individual user. The tape drives and portable hard disks are ideal for corporate companies.