Let’s face it: If you have to remember to back up your data, you won’t. Any backup solution that does not eliminate the human factor is bound to fail. So put away your external hard drives and thumb drives that you bought so that you could back up your data regularly, and read on to learn about some solutions that will take the chore of backing up from you — and, in the process, make sure that your data is regularly secured.
Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server (WHS) has been out for several years now, but few people have even heard of it. That’s a shame because it provides the kind of hands-off, automated backup that most Windows users need.
WHS is an operating system, not a device. It’s based on Microsoft’s rock-solid Windows 2003 Server operating system, which is still in production on millions of servers — computers that run web sites, transport e-mail, and perform dozens of file streaming functions — around the world. WHS, though, takes the geeky foundation of Server 2003 and adds functionality aimed squarely at home users — most significantly, automated backup of all household computers. The only requirements to use WHS are an in-home network — which many already have through their wireless broadband or DSL router — and a healthy fear of losing data.
The easiest way to acquire WHS is by purchasing a product with the operating system pre-installed, such as HP’s MediaSmart Server. These devices, which are essentially small computers designed to be run and operated without a keyboard or monitor attached, are relatively inexpensive, starting at about half the cost of a full-fledged desktop machine. Four hundred dollars, for example, gets you a MediaSmart Server with plenty of horsepower and a 1 terabyte drive to start out. Or, if you have an…