I want to get my laptop computer backed up onto CDs before taking it on a trip very soon (I don't have the equipment myself and probably won't have time to look into that before I leave). I called the nearest computer super store, and they said they'd need to keep it longer than I can easily be without it. A neighbor with a home-based computer consulting business offered to do it in less time for a better price. My question is, when someone is performing the backup, do they normally see what's in your documents to some extent without even doing it intentionally? Because if so, I might prefer to have a stranger at a store do it! Also, it is possible (and if so, at all common) for something to go wrong during back up, to where data is lost? Sorry if these are silly questions, but I'm worried! : ( Thanks!!

"My question is, when someone is performing the backup, do they normally see what's in your documents to some extent without even doing it intentionally?" No, they would have to do some snooping.

G'day Spoc, If you only need to back up your doc's, why drop them onto a floppy, Doc's are small files and you will get heaps on a single floppy. If you need more than your Doc's backed up, just copy the sensitive stuff to a floppy and delete them from your laptop prior to getting the backup done. You can reload them anytime later. Anyone who is backing up yore data has full access and open any file and read it's content. Avagoodweekend........

Thanks Ham30 and Old Salt, Salt, the thing is, I have been cursed with very bad luck with floppies. Data corruption has happened on completely unrelated computers, that I don't necessarily move the same floppies between. Even when using new disks, and storing the carefully. Even if this has been a bizarre coincidence, I will never be comfortable considering floppies safe, for any length of time whatsoever. Too many times in my life I have experienced the heartbreak of going to open a file on a floppy or transfer data back to a computer from one, and received error messages showing me I was out of luck. A couple times, data recovery methods restored some parts, but that's not reliable enough. I don't have time before I leave to investigate why I've had these problems, so for now, floppies are just not an option, except for replaceable stuff or stuff I don't care about. So it has to be CDs. I know the person performing backup *can* easily read my docs, but the thing is I guess I'm willing to assume he wouldn't be curious enough to actually do it on purpose. I just didn't know if to an extent, data (beyond titles) is just "in the face" of the person, looking for it or not. Obviously I have no clue. I do know that when moving things around or copying them myself -- within my computer or using floppies -- that nothing actually has to be opened. Maybe it's roughly the same process with copying onto CD. That's what I was hoping, but decided to indulge in a little over-caution by asking. Anyway! So, if'n ya don't mind: is it at all common, or a standard risk to some extent, that something about the backup-to-CD process could ruin data? I have too many files I need copied to do my own just-in-case total floppy backup before dropping it off. That's what I'm trying to avoid, for reasons beyond hating floppies. I've backed up that way before, and even for a partial it takes hours and tons of floppies on this crummy, slow old piece of... you get the idea. Thanks again! :^ )

Buy either an external CD Writer or an external Hard Drive and copy the files off by yourself. I assume that you have a USB or firewire port.

Hi Wizard, thanks for responding. I probably will look into that at some point but the thing now is, I'm not going to have time before I leave for a trip to add anything to my to-do list. (But on the subject of doing it myself, I *think* last time I considered it I discovered that I don't in fact have the right ports -- crummy basic Toshiba laptop, circa 1999 or so. But I know there must be a workaround, or maybe I'm remembering incorrectly.) Anyway, for now, I wanted to pay someone for the convenience of not having one more thing to shop for, learn and do before I leave. So, is backing up onto CD pretty risk-free; meaning unless the guy's an idiot my data should be fine in the process? And like Ham said, I'm now assuming he won't see any file contents (just titles) unless he actually opens things for the heck of it. Boy I'm sounding sillier to myself all the time on this one! But thanks, all.

Another way would be to take all of the files that you want to be backed up and copy them to a single folder (it can have subfolders too) and then Zip that folder. If the complete Zip file is greater than 650mb then make more than one keeping them under 650mb. Name them simply BackupOne.zip, BackupTwo.zip... Have the other individual back that up to CD and then they will have no reason to snoop. You will have made it so simple for them to do what you are wanting that they will only spend the time to back up the file. Otherwise, they may need to spend some time looking at what they are backing up to ensure they are backing up exactly what you wanted them to back up. Regards, Bryan