There is something I use and I want to share it with my community. Normally I don't speak highly of Microsoft and most of their products, but they do have a product that I think is one of their best yet. It is called the Windows Home Server. Now just because I used the server word, don't get scared and run off now. The Windows Home Server (WHS) is basically a PC that doesn't require a keyboard or monitor, sits on your network, automatically creates image like backups all your data, is used as a family shared storage site, can be accessed over the Internet, and does so much more. It is easy to use and is designed for the every day home user who has more than one computer on their network and wants to have the benefits of having a server without really knowing how to manage it. For me, the biggest feature is that when I have a computer that stops working due to software, Virus, bug or whatever, I just put in the restore CD, answer a few basic questions, pick the restore date, and wait for the home server to restore my PC to the same state is was before the crash. When the restore is done, my computer is exactly the same way it was before it died. All programs and data are restored like it never even died.

If you are interested, there are two ways to get WHS;
1: Buy the OEM software and use an old PC as your server or build one yourself. NewEgg.com has the OEM software for $95. Make sure you read the reviews if you don't believe me.

2: You can purchase a small form factor PC with WHS installed for you. One of the most popular makers is HP; They make the HP Media Smart series of Home Servers.

If you don't have a backup plan, and your data is important to you, I highly recommend you read up on the home server as a possible solution. Another very good solution is the Drobo drive at drobo.com. I don't have one of these, but I have only heard excellent things from the Tech community on this. I probably won't get this as my Home Server provides me with all the backup I need. I have had failed computers and failed hard drives, and so far my data has been safe every time. I hope yours is as well.

I haven't had the chance to use WHS yet but from what I've seen it looks pretty nice. Backing up your data is by far one of the best things anyone with who doesn't want to lose anything important can do.

If you are more computer savvy and don't want to pay for WHS you could try FreeNAS, it's pretty simple to set up and it's free!

Also, you could look on ramsteinyardsales.com and purchase a cheap computer from someone to run the software. Just make sure it meets the basic system requirements of the software you want to run. Like the TechGuy said, you won't need to purchase a monitor, keyboard or mouse if you already own those because after set up you wont need them.

FreeNAS (Network Area Storage for you folks that don't know what a NAS is) is also an excellent program, but you definatly have to be a little computer savy to set it up. RAID is another option as long as it's not RAID 0(stripping), but again you need to know what you are doing. Also, with the NAS option there is a little more user involvement. That's why I like the Windows Home Server. It's site in the corner of my house doing its magic without me having to do anything. I get warnings or messages when there is an issue, and it just tells me what to do to fix it. If I had more time on my hand, I would have probably saved my money and gone that route, but in all actuality, it only cost me $89 for the software and a few old PC parts I had laying around as the system requirements for it a fairly low. Now if my bandwidth was better(I'm only getting 384Kb/s) I would do online backups. There are a few options out there but the best so far would have to be Carbonite. It's about $50 a year for unlimited data from your system drive. Baottom line though like always is to always have your important data in more than one place, and an external hard drive is not a backup if your computer is broke as it's then it's only in one place, therefore not a backup.

Thanks Tall Ty for that extra info.