Seasons greetings and a happy new year

Since you didn't give any specs about your computer or the operating system I will assume you are running something from Microsoft.

I would suggest something called Paragon BU & Recovery.  They offer a free program that works particulary well for me. I am not at my own computer right now so I can't give you the particular URL you would need to d/l their free program. Let me state right now if you are at all interested make sure to d/l their user manual – it exceeds 120+ pages.

As soon as I get home I will post the URL for their free d/l. If my memory still serves me correctly the company website is:

http://www.paragon-software.com/ 

Hope this is of some help to you.

J. R.

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you.

First off, I would suggest you go to the Internet Adviser homepage and click on the Toolkit bar at the top of the page. Then click on the Other Free Utilities List. Once that opens, select the Best 46 Free Utilities. Gizmo has an incredible site. What you will want to search for is File and Desktop Utilites, Paragon will be listed there. I highly reccomend it, but be advised it is complex and can be confusing; again, I advise taking the time to d/l the manual and print it out. It's 120+ pages!

Another good good free program is available from Cnet is EaseUs Todo. Either program will be more than adequate to backup and recover everything on your computer.

Right now hard drives are extremely expensive. I am told that flooding in South East Asian countries has created this problem.

Since I am a cheapskate I use a USB hard drive dock to back my computer systems. The one I use was less than $20.00 US including shipping from New Egg or Tiger Direct. I use the hard drives instead of burning CDs. 

Hard drives come in a lot of flavors and price ranges. Frankly, since I store a lot of data to exteral hard drives using the USB dock I opt for the middle of the road price range. However, when it comes to the hard drives in my computers I research the specs and choose one that scores well according to PCstats.com. By the way, I think it is well worth the time to get on their email list. A lot of their super tech info is way over my head but has saved me from spending $'s on junk.

Don't know if any of this helps you, but wishing you a Happy New Year.

J. R.