The personal computer has long been a part of our daily lives. Perhaps we've become a bit spoiled with their reliability, because there are millions of us who do not have a regularly scheduled computer backup program in place. While you may say, “OK, every Saturday morning I'm going to back up my system. That way, all I can ever lose is a week's work.”

However, as with most things, actions speak louder than words. If you don't follow your own directive, you can easily fall into the habit, week after week, until you forget about it altogether. Now you're in the danger zone. This can prove to be a true disaster. Take a few tips from someone who knows. I found myself in this unenviable position, to my great loss. After reading through what happened to me, I hope to convince you that a regular computer backup is essential. I haven't missed even one computer backup since.

I'd been working on a PC for years, when I decided to upgrade to a laptop. I transferred all of my files to the laptop and then wiped the disc on the PC before selling it. I'd been working on the laptop for several weeks, reveling in its wonderfulness, space saving quality and portability. It was new and so I, to my great regret, didn't give much thought to a computer backup. Ha! One day, I left the laptop unattended for a few minutes. Kids were visiting my home and someone inadvertently (kids get rowdy) dropped my laptop. My hard disc was trashed, utterly and completely. No directories. No files.

What did I have on the laptop prior to this accident? Two books, one a novel nearing completion, representing about two and a half years of work, the other a non-fiction piece of about 250 pages. What else? A couple of thousand other files, some consisting of research, others completed short pieces. Now you might ask, how can anyone be so dumb as to not have done a computer backup, with so much to lose? Tell me about it!

I'm sure I'm not the only person to have experienced this. I made the mistake of thinking that, because the laptop was new, I could get away without doing a computer backup for the short period in which I simply procrastinated. I didn't take the accident factor into account. My misplaced confidence and discounting the possibility of some freak accident cost me dearly. Believe me, I cried over this spilled milk, more than once. The cost of the machine was not the worst result. It was the value of my data.

People often think, “This couldn't happen to me.” That's why I have no one to blame but myself for this tremendous loss. All because of my negligence in performing a simple computer backup. I certainly hope I've convinced you. It's about as much trouble as brushing your teeth. Just do it!