?A stitch in time saves nine?. This is a common quote that says that if you take a precautionary measure today you will reap the rewards from it in the future. Although this phrase was coined many years ago (probably hundreds of years but I'm not sure), it can be applied to the latest computer technology. This is the measure of a good proverb, and something that applies to all types of industry and can stand the test of time.

Specifically, if you back up your files today then you will reap the rewards if the worst should happen and you lose your files. Considering that the average time to failure of a hard disk is three to five years, you would be well advised to back up everything on a regular basis.

?Don't put all your eggs in one basket?. Here's a now the quote that has been around the donkey's years. To draw an analogy with our beloved computers, you shouldn't just have one PC if it is your work computer. Just imagine if one day your machine just refused to start up - where we did leave you? I always have at least two working computers at hand, so that if one goes down the other one can be used as a backup.

The average home user needn't worry too much if they've only got one machine, it's just people who rely on it for their living. I have heard horror stories of people losing their mobile phones and not being able to ring anyone for businesses purposes. They have lost hundreds of pounds because they had no way of contacting anybody. This is just one case of putting all your eggs in one basket and then suffering the consequences. If you rely on e-mail, this could happen to you if your computer was stolen or simply broke down.

Considering that the price of a cheap computer is only around ? 300, there is really no excuse for not having a second machine nearby.