The average home user is now more aware of the uses of digital gadgets and has a storage device ready for every possible need. The type of data that we need to access everyday is highly personalized according to our lifestyle and profession. That is why the backup needs of a housewife will be different from those of a student, but both will depend on a certain database that absolutely must not be lost.

Surveys reveal that the people of the UK are more aware of viruses than they were before. Over 75% of all home users feel that it is important to have an antivirus installed. However, few update the software regularly. Apart from viruses, there is not much awareness about other causes of data loss. Operating System (OS) crashes are still unforeseen by most. Hardware-related issues are more common, especially the hard disk crash. These cases being rarely within the purview of laymen, mishandling is quite common. The other form of data loss which is steadily rising is through human error. A wrong click of the mouse, a USB drive that accidentally slides into a bowl of soup, or a CD that gets scratched while being taken out from the tray -- there are so many ways in which data can be lost by the owners.

This is where the importance of backup comes in. No matter how prepared you are, and how safe you feel your system is, a data loss can catch you unawares. Five types of data that we commonly lose and that need to be backed up regularly have been listed below.

The address book and the personal memo are two important folders that are immediately lost in case the OS crashes. We usually keep them in the same drive with the program files as they come as a package, storing our precious information in them. Imagine trying to find out all the phone numbers, email ids and addresses of your friends and family, not to mention birthdays, etc. The personal memo sometimes contains little bits of information such as when you want the wall clock delivered from the service centre, the date for the renewal of your id card, and other data that can be very frustrating to lose.

We all like to preserve our precious memories. Photos and family videos have become an important part of our lives. They also take up a lot of space on the hard drive as media files are usually quite large, even if compressed. Therefore, they also stand more chances of getting corrupted or deleted. It is advisable to keep regular backups of these and not to load them on the hard disk at all. The moments captured in them will not come back if lost once.

Do you like reading? Maybe you have written a few stories or poems yourself. All music lovers keep downloading music and video clips from the internet. Imagine how sorry you would feel if your library or your repertoire vanishes one morning in a disk crash. Media downloads are prone to corruption and fragmentation. Ensure you run a virus scan before taking a backup of them.

Many of us keep our personal finance details on our hard disks. This information can pose a threat if lost. You don't want a crafty hacker to get access to your account or credit card details. Besides, if you have the good habit of keeping regular accounts, you should also try to preserve it properly for the tax people.

Many people work from home now, running their businesses, writing on the net, selling goods and services on the web, designing, having an animation or editing or sound studio ? and all those activities that require digital backup. If you are working from your desktop or laptop, it is crucial that you take regular backup of your client data, too, apart from the work-related information. You will face the very uphill task of rebuilding the database and redoing everything again if you lose your business data.

Taking regular backups is not expensive, but a matter of habit. There are CD, DVD, USB drives and portable hard disks available as cheap and handy options.