I use a external hard drive for my backups. I do not back up things like the OS or applications since I can re-install them (yes, it is a pain but workable). WHat I do is create a primary folder called data with sub-folders by application. THen all I need to do is connect my external device and drag the entire folder over too it. Very easy painless and fast and I did not need to buy any extra or specail software to do it.