Your photos, music and data are just a virus or hard disk failure away from oblivion. Build a triple-layer defence using PC Authority's practical guide.

Our feature story covers best formats, backup options, and why you should reburn those photo CDs every two years.

Climb the steps all the way to Windows guru status with our invaluable selection of tips and shortcuts for XP and Vista.

Does dropping a hard disk from a third floor window or dunking it in a cup of tea mean curtains for your data? We visit Ontrack's data recovery labs to find out.

Stuart Andrews shows you how to set up and maintain the perfect backup routine.

Want to perform an extreme makeover of your system's motherboard, processor, memory or hard disk? We'll show you how.

Data recovery is a mystical and varied art that shares much with archaeology. Depending on where you dig for data you may or may not find what you are looking for, and the longer you leave going after your lost data the greater the chance it will be worn away by age and reduced to fragments of its former self.

Leigh Dyer looks at how to get failover redundancy on a shoestring budget

Every expert has a toolkit. Tim Dean takes you through the 10 tools any Windows expert cannot live without. So, to give you a head start, here are PC Authority's top 10 tools for the ultimate Windows user.

Looking to build your dream machine? We explore the latest components on the market, and give you advice on which ones to hunt down, along with the general price you can expect to pay for each major component.

Unless you keep your computer disconnected from a network and under secure lock and key there will always be the potential for prying eyes to access the data on your hard disk.

PC Authority takes a trip down computer memory lane and discovers just how PC technology has evolved... and how Microsoft and IBM nearly destroyed each other.

After the disappointment - perceived or otherwise - of Windows Vista, many are pinning their hopes on a revival with Windows 7. And from our first impressions of the pre-beta code, that's exactly what they can expect.

David Fearon explains how to save energy and hassle by converting your old Windows XP PC to a virtual one that you can run on your Vista machine

Stack your system full of software without paying a penny, with our guide to essential downloads

Our full guide to saving cash-saving secrets is here, from how to get discounts on PCs, to SIM only phone contracts, the best DSLR cameras deals, and discount licensing from Adobe, Microsoft and others.

Possibly the most interesting feature of the Xbox is its similarity to a PC in terms of its hardware specification. Unlike other games consoles, like the Sony PlayStation2 and Nintendo GameCube, which

The choice of hard disk will make a huge difference to overall system performance. Due to this, weve taken the advice of our own Labs team and chosen IBMs 30GB DeskStar 75GXP hard disk. Its a common i

If your PC is lacking storage space then give it some extra room with these four internal hard disks.

Find out how Microsoft’s impressive new OS will share and back up all the data on your home PCs, among other tricks.