Buy a new PC and it will ship with a large hard drive. The obvious choice is to split this in to multiple partitions so that you have a drive for your important media files. These can be audio tracks you’ve purchased online and are given a once-only right to download and store on your machine. It’s only right that you’d want to keep a regular backup of these files.

A wise choice would be Acronis True Image. This is backup and restore software that will enable you to select a drive or drive partition and then select an output for your backup. If it’s a small partition, you could easily backup online. Alternatively, a blank DVD or external hard drive. As Acronis True Image supports incremental backup, every time you run another backup of the same source, in the future, only updated or altered files will be backed up. With the new one-click backup, it means you can setup your source/destination and other settings, then click one button for the backup to start.

Acronis True Image offers far more than drive backup. Try&Decide enables you to create self-contained area on your drive so you can test new software without it affecting your PC. You can then install and test the new software and immediately remove, without having to uninstall. If you ever need to install a larger hard drive, use the Clone Disk function to move across the content from your existing drive.

Cleansing tools are included from the old Acronis DriveCleanser tool, which used to be a standalone application. These tools will shred files and documents so they can’t be retrieved and also enable you to safely erase the contents of your drive, in case you need to sell on your PC or ditch an old drive.

The latest Acronis True Image 2010 ships with online backup support so you can store your data in a secure server. This costs £3.95/month after 90 days. Other highlights include an Apple OS style timeline approach to backup.

Note: we have a special 25% discount from the RRP of Acronis True Image 2010. Even better if you are a USD customer, with a 37% discount from the RRP, making the price $31.51.