Backup support in Windows Live OneCare (913736)

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Backup programs are used to recover from a hard disk failure. Hard disks have a limited lifespan that is measured by mean time between failure (MTBF). If you back up your data to a second hard disk, the data is still vulnerable if that hard disk also fails. Therefore, as a safety precaution, you cannot back up to a second hard disk that is installed in a computer or to a network share.

Windows Live OneCare Backup supports data backup to the following two locations:

• An external hard disk drive
  An external hard disk drive is a removable storage device that connects to your computer by using the following connections:
  • Universal serial bus (USB)
    A type of connection for external devices that supports Plug and Play. By using a USB connection, you can connect and disconnect devices without shutting down or restarting a computer.
  • FireWire (IEEE 1394)
    A type of high-speed connection for external devices that connect to a computer.
  If you use an external hard disk drive for backup, Windows Live OneCare Backup can automatically back up your files during a tune-up process.
  
  Note Windows Live OneCare Backup supports external hard disk drives that are at least 8 gigabytes (GB). Windows Live OneCare Backup does not support backup to the following locations:
  • Flash drives
  • Zip drives
  • Iomega REV drives
  • Network locations
• A disc burner
  A disc burner is a writeable disc drive. To use this kind of backup device, you must have a disc burner that is connected to the computer and some blank, writeable discs.
  
  Windows Live OneCare Backup supports the following types of writeable discs:
  • Recordable discs (CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL) that enable data to be written only one time.
  • Rewriteable discs (CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW) that can be erased and reused.
  Note DVD-R DL and DVD-RAM discs are not supported.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.