Ditto on Arcady's comment. I have an external HD for back-ups. I never trust burned CDs (have been burning em since 1995 and seen enough bad discs in my life) as back-ups. I used to have a tape-back system, but the external HD pretty much has replaced it for ease of use (Maxtor One-Touch back-up system) and capacity. Sure the external HD can break down too ... but probably not at the same time I would need a back-up set (when my main HD lets decides to bite the dust).