Hello everybody
Does anybody know of any good document back up software (free or to-buy) which will back up my hard drive to a external hard drive. I want the software to recognise files and folders which have been changed or added, and only back up the changes, not the entire drive. (No point in backing up what is already backed up). At the moment I just drag and drop but that just copies everything even folders which have not been changed.
Ta

Robocopy. Simple, quick, free, and easy to use:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy

I do a daily backup of 1000 user's work areas with this simple command:

robocopy "<SOURCE_DATA_LOCATION>" "<BACKUP_LOCATION>" /E /V /NP /R:3 /W:10

Put the command in a batch file and set it as a scheduled task to run daily.

I have just started using AllwaysSync http://www.allwaysync.com/ which seems to work quite well. You set-up the folders you want to backup and you can then either schedule it to run or run it when you like.

I use SyncBack Freeware V3.2.19.0, probably very similar to the other suggestions.

Easy to configure and use.

http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/freeware-hub.html

Not exactly what you're asking for but Vista users might be interested in this http://www.shadowexplorer.com/
ShadowExplorer allows you to browse the shadow copies created by the Windows® VistaTM Volume Shadow Copy Service. It's especially thought for users of the home editions, who don't have access to the shadow copies by default, but it's also useful for users of the other editions.
Shadow Copy

From time to time, Windows® VistaTM creates point-in-time copies of your files. This allows you to retrieve older versions from files you accidentally deleted or altered. This service is turned on by default on all versions of Windows® VistaTM, but Microsoft grants access to these copies only in Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions. This is where ShadowExplorer comes into play.

Basically, Vista 'Home' editions are constantly backing up your documents at regular intervals (but doesn't give you access to them) & this lets you find earlier versions of documents you've changed or deleted.

Alternatively you could:

1. Save your Document twice at point of save - you may want to save your document externally first (CD/Memory Stick) then save your 'second' copy in your preferred Document folder - that way when you click on the 'File' menu in word, the local document will be listed as the first document to open in your recently accessed file list and you won't get that annoying message "Cannot find document".

2. In Word go to Tools/Options, click on the 'Save' tab and check mark the first option - always create backup copy - this saves to the same location as your original - at the end of the day you can order your files in the folder by type and burn your backup files to cd/backup to memory stick.

Best regards,
swarfendor43