How to Make Bulletproof Backups

Making backups is one of life's annoying little chores, like flossing and reading Budget Computing. But it's absolutely essential, because you never know when your hard drive is going to flatline. (BTW, a clicking sound means death is imminent. Abandon ship!)

Problem is, most backup solutions are slow, cumbersome, and ineffective. Not mine. I've figured out how to make fast, automated backups of my entire hard drive. If it ever tanks, I should be back in business in a matter of minutes.

Here's what you need:

• A hard drive that's at least as large as the one currently in your PC. You can score a 160GB drive from Best Buy for a mere $39.99 after two rebates.



• "Image" software, which can make an exact copy of your hard drive without compression. I'm extremely fond of Casper XP, an easy-to-use utility that runs in the background. No messy, system-occupying DOS interface like with other imaging programs.

Install the second hard drive (which will effectively become the clone) in your PC, then install and run Casper XP. Set it to copy your main drive on a weekly (or even daily) basis. If the drive drive ever tanks, all you have to do is switch over to the clone and you're back in business.