backup

There's a million ways to back up, using several is best (if you use the internet, their servers can crash. If you use a jump drive and leave it by your computer and your house burns down, you lose both...)

So, online storage sites. Email copies to yourself (good for daily backups). Jump drive. PCMIA card or similar. External hard drive (best for full backups). DVDs are fine but there are better ways.

Get a USB flash drive. Carry it with you. Use free online backup--get a gmail account and mail yourself copies. Scr3w Dell, and uninstall any of their unnecessary bundled garbage.

Linton-- saying that the backup option from XP is the *only* way to back up your work is like saying there's only one way to get from New York to California...

There are dozens of ways to back up your work. In fact, I recommend using several.

I burn CDs/ DVDs of all my work (writing, teaching, other jobs) about every 4-5 months, or when the semester ends. I email work to myself, esp. when I'm working away from home as I've had flash drives fail. I also use an auto-syncing back up program that stores my work elsewhere (incase something should destroy my office, the work is safe.)

To back up work:
Go to Start--> Documents.
When you select a docuemt, Vista will give you an option to Burn (look near the top of the window.)
Also, you can drag the file (click once to select, HOLD the button while you move the mouse) to another location, such as a flash drive or other location. (Look for the little arrow that lets you show or hide folders-- should be on the left side the pane. I don't have Vista, I just edit Vista training courseware for one of my jobs...)

Flash drives are easy-- plug it into the USB port and it's like a massive, stable floppy disk. And they're dirt cheap now. I got a 2g one last year for less than $20.

(BTW, Vista DOES include some fancy back up options, too.)

There are also online backup services that are free. WWW.Mozy.com offers up to 2 megabytes of free storage. I use it, and have not reached the halfway mark of my free storage limit. Once you set up what folders and drives you want backed up, the rest is automatic.