Please remember that unfortunately, computer hard drives are not known for giving you advanced warnings when they are planning on dying. It is for that reason that I recommend that you make a back up of your database whenever you have made changes. It’s only a matter of time…..all hard drives will fail at some time or another. Maybe it’s in five years, maybe it’ll be today. There is also the very real threat of computer virus as well as unforeseen acts of nature, such as fires, power surges, floods, etc. You do not want to risk losing your work.
It’s also a very good idea to make frequent backups of your other important documents and pictures. If you would mind loosing it from a hard drive crash, Back It Up!!
Collectors Assistant Plus has a built in back-up function, but you can also do a simple copy and paste. Many people, including myself, do back-ups on a portable external USB hard drive, but burning to a blank CD works just as well.