How else can I say this? Actually, there is no other way more straightforward than this: you need to backup now. The risks involved with not doing so are simply not worth it. There’s no really no reason to not be backing up your computer. That said, you likely feel you do have a legitimate reason. And in some cases you might, but there is always a way.

Here are six reasons why you might be putting off creating a backup of your computer:

1. No money for an external hard drive, online service or software
2. You don’t know where to get an external hard drive or what kind to get
3. You don’t know what software or online services you should use
4. It takes too much time to set up, let alone, to backup your computer all the time
5. You don’t have anything that matters if it’s lost
6. You simply don’t have the know-how

Do any of those excuses sound familiar? Are there several that you are saying to yourself? Perhaps justifying them in your mind even as you read through the list? Let’s stop for a second. Notice I said reasons above the list, but excuses below the list. That’s because they are.

Excuse One: No money for an external hard drive, online service or software

Now there is definitely some legitimacy to some of them, such as being tight on money (and I certainly support prioritizing your expenses). That said, even when my backup hard drive went out, I found a way to make money to pay for it to counter the cost. And let’s get serious here, a great hard drive ranges from $60 to $80 (US Dollars). If you spent, three, four, five hundred or more dollars on your computer, you can’t tell me eighty dollars is too much to “insure” it.

This same thought goes for paying for online backup services and software. However, there are many free options which we have covered at MakeUseOf.

Excuse Two: You don’t know where to get an external hard drive or what kind to get

Use Google. Or if you’re “anti-Google,” use your preferred search engine. My point is, you have a plethora of information available to you via the Internet. Take advantage of it.

Excuse Three: You don’t know what software or online services you should use

See comment above on Excuse Two.

Excuse Four: It takes too much time to set up, let alone, to backup your computer all the time

No it doesn’t. It takes urgency to just do it. Sure it takes some time and if you have something pressing to do right now, perhaps it’s not the best thing to do with your time. I leave that up to your discretion. The initial set up only takes a couple minutes and for regular backups there’s scheduling, or if you backup to the cloud they sync by themselves. There’s no need to manually run every backup.

Excuse Five: You don’t have anything important, so it doesn’t matter if it’s lost

If you think this, I honestly can’t argue this one with you. My guess is you likely do, you just aren’t thinking of those photos or important documents, like your resume, because you don’t always use them. But when the time comes to accessing them, you’ll probably wish you had them.

Excuse Six: You simply don’t have the know-how

That’s okay! A lot of people don’t. In fact, that’s part of what makes writing on MakeUseOf so enjoyable – I have the privilege of helping people who want to learn be more productive and efficient with technology.

That said, remember my reply to excuses two and three? Yeah… use Google. The Internet is your best friend in discovering how-tos. Also, check out so many of the other articles on MakeUseOf (some linked to at the end of this article) and save them in a service like Evernote (which we’ve covered on MakeUseOf) or bookmark them to refer back to it later.

Conclusion: Just Do It

The first part to any intention, backing up your computer in this case, is to realize the obstacles and objections (i.e. excuses) you will face. The second part is to create a plan and act. Without action, there won’t be any results… or in this case, files, if your computer fails.

Here are some helpful articles published on MakeUseOf concerning backing up. Some of these I have linked to throughout this article.

• These Guys Didn’t Back Up Their Files, Now Look What Happened
• What Is The Best Backup Solution- [Geeks Weigh In]
• Read This Before Choosing An Online Backup Provider
• How, & How Often, Do You Back Up Your Files- [We Ask You]
• How To Automate & Schedule Regular Windows 7 Backups
• Top 10 Backup Software Apps For Your PC

Do you have a backup already? If so, how is yours set up? If not, why not and how do you plan to put one into affect?