Lots of good suggestions here. A month ago, I thought my laptop bit the dust. I normally back up to an extra computer that we have but it had been a couple of weeks since the last time I backed up. I was working on some AutoCAD drawings for a large project at the time and fortunately for me, it was the motherboard and I did not lose any data at all. It was a little inconvenient though. When I bought the laptop I also sprung for an extended warranty and I'm glad I did. They send a prepaid box that you ship your computer in and they repair it and send it back all via 2nd day air. Still, I was without it for about a week. I have never purchased this for a desktop PC since they are generally more reliable and easier and cheaper to get repaired.