A spiritual Master once said he could carry the universe in the palm of his hand. So too, do we keep our personal details on computers and other small gadgets like ipods, mp3 players, and so on. Unlike the universe, a mistake, a drive crashing, or a malicious event can make the data on our computers disappear into thin air. So we need to backup on suitable media.
There are many different ways to perform a data backup. However, one of the quickest and easiest methods of doing this is with a CD Rom. As with any other method of backup, a CD Rom does have its negatives; however, usually the positives far outweigh the negatives. For example, you get more storage than with the standard floppy disks.
The basic CD disk is the CD-R, which means CD-Rewritable. You can only use it once to copy your records. This disk is good for permanent storage, that is, you don’t need to update the files on the disk. However, if you need to erase or revise any of the files this is not a good choice for you. However, it can hold a maximum of 700 MB of data, including various files such as your application programs, software utilities, word processing documents, pictures, and music. CD-R disks are relatively inexpensive and you can buy them from your local computer store.
You do not copy your records onto a CD-R disk in the usual sense, as with floppy disks. That is, copy refers to the process of burning the file onto the disk. Therefore, you will need to buy a CD-Burner. A CD-Burner is a special piece of equipment similar to a drive, and it comes with software to perform the copy, erase, and delete functions you would normally use when using floppy disks.