Question about backing up

[JoeSmith92]

Hi, I'm going to buy an external HDD for my computers backed up files,
however I'm wondering about size... I currently have used 160 GB of 300 GB on
my HDD, does this mean I have to buy a 160 GB external HDD to put my backed
up files on? If so, are there any other ways to back up files without needing
to use up so much space? Please help.

 

[Bob]

External HDs are inexpensive. Get a big one.

 

[JoeSmith92]

How do system checkpoints work? Do they require a HDD or disk? And if
something went wrong with my PC, would I be able to use it to restore my
computer?
Thanks

 

[Bob]

Start a new thread for your new unrelated question.

 

[John Hanley]

I have a 160 GB external drive dedicated for my backups, and have it set to
backup automatically once per week. I get about six weeks of ongoing
(incremental) automatic backups before it runs out of space. I then delete
the entire backup set and start over. Here is a list of my recent
incremental backup sizes (I was tracking my experience). If
I had to do it over again, I would probably opt for a larger external disc,
but this works reasonably well for me.

Backup Size
MB
46,512 12/6/2007
179 12/9/2007 9:04
621 12/16/2007 9:04
22,238 12/23/2007 9:34
81 12/23/2007 11:44
228 12/30/2007 9:04
7,762 1/6/2008 9:03
4,258 1/13/2008 16:53
122 1/13/2008 18:33
14,935 1/20/2008 9:12
283 1/27/2008 9:41
3,941 2/2/2008 11:04
1,100 2/9/2008 11:00
1,300 2/16/2008 11:00
44,000 2/23/2008 11:00 <---ran out of space, did not finish.