My computer developed a problem and I couldn't get into anything. As I wasn't sure if it was the hard drive breaking down or something else, I thought it would be good to try to access it from another computer before going out and buying another one. If it could be seen on another computer, that would have meant it wasn't the hard drive that was causing the problem, and my data would have been safe.

@ Azz and anyone else interested. Here's a more detailed explaination of my backup strategy and how I used it while taking our main PC out for an upgrade. Warning! It's technical! http://www.mepiscommunity.org/node/1087

Glad you've got to the bottom of it Linda.

Rich - I use TimeMachine, just plug in and nothing to worry about. Hourly back-ups, daily backups etc.

You plug it into a different computer - that way you can see if the HD is the problem or not.

Yeah, I saw something about a similar app called Back In Time which I might investigate. I think it'll do snapshotting over the network. On the other hand I might still have a go at putting together my own solution, just for the giggles.