I don't know how many linux/unix people are here, but I really do like using rsync to make backups on to a remote machine, as described here.

Assuming you have a machine from which to do the backups, you get some real advantages from rsync. First, it's smart enough to only grab the files that have changed. Using it's ability to create links to files that have not changed, you can make multiple snapshots of the data you're backing up without consuming too much file space (this is described in the link above). Also, you can set it up to run as a scheduled event. Since it doesn't require changing tapes, or any other manual processes, you don't run the risk of forgetting to do your backups.

You can even mount the remote backup drive to the source computer in read only mode to make recovery of lost files easy.