On Sun, 4 Apr 2010 13:35:39 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

I save anything vital like my business accounts on to a memory stick, but I
don't backup general stuff - which could be an inconvenience if anything
happened.

I have Norton 360 which has a built in back up feature - but it doesn't
work. Drives me mad.

Everytime it reaches the stage 'Insert DVD' it them claims the DVD isn't
empty. Tried loads of different makes & the DVD slot works OK with
everything else.

So, would I be better off with one of these online backup companies or
buying some kind of external device?

If the latter, any suggestions to a PC numpty?

Go buy Acronis True Image and a cheap USB HD.

Do a complete image to the new HD. (Takes anything from 10 to 30
minutes.

Then do incremental backups to that image. You can even mount the
image to browse as if it were a real HD. I can even run some simple
programs from the image.

Keep the new HD disconnected and stored in a safe place, preferably in
another building.