If anyone is interested, I use what I have found to be the cheapest, most effective backup solution for the home. I'll simply copy and paste what I posted somewhere else. I highly recommend it. I used to use a tape drive here, but after I set up the home network, it became ridiculously complicated. To add a detail I left out: the drive I image to is internal. I connect a firewire drive and copy the latest image to it, then take it offsite. I have immediate availability to restore lost files or recover a dead machine, and offsite availability in case of a disaster. In case of the latter, I can image the drive to a new machine, bring it up in safe mode or recovery console, fix incompatible drivers and I'm done.
For work, I use CA Brightstor 11.1 and multiple IBM LTO-2 8-tape changers, using Maxell 200-400 gigabyte tapes. Since that's not exactly going to happen at home I added another HD, twice the size of the one to back up, and use Drive Image, storing several generations of images on the other drive. If you lose a file, you can restore it. If you hose the machine, you can replace the HD, restore the image, and you're exactly where you were at last backup. I have done it a couple of times on my daughter's computer, and it's dead easy. The backup itself takes less than an hour. It's so much easier and cheaper and more effective than anything I can think of for the home. I think the software was $99. No media to buy. More effective if you use a removable or firewire HD and store offsite.
