Although you can back up data to a Zip disk in a number of ways, one of the easiest is to "drag-n-drop" the files or folders from your hard drive to the Zip disk.

Most users on campus have either a 100MB or 250MB capacity Zip drive. Therefore, you need to make sure that the amount of data you want to back up will fit on the size Zip disk you use. If the data you want to back up exceeds the limit of the disk, you will need to use an alternate form of external media such as a CD or a USB Flash drive.

The instructions outlined here are based on a Windows XP computer. If you have a different version of the Windows operating system, these instructions may not work exactly as they are outlined here. For example, the images of dialog boxes or windows may look slightly different.

1. Insert a Zip disk into the Zip drive.
2. Click Start in the lower-left corner of the computer's desktop.
3. Click My Computer.
4. You should see an icon for the Zip drive in the My Computer window, which should look similar to the following:

   

5. Resize this window so that when you open the location (window) where the files/folders you want to back up are located, the windows do not overlap each other on the desktop.
6. Open the location of the files/folders you want to back up. (There are many ways to locate your files—use the procedure you normally use.)
7. Move the mouse cursor over the file/folder you want to copy and hold down the left-side button on your mouse to select the file or folder icon.
8. Drag the icon over to the Zip drive icon.
9. When a small plus sign (+) appears over the Zip drive icon, release the mouse button. A copy of the file or folder will now be located on the Zip disk.
10. To verify that the file or folder has been copied to the disk, double-click the Zip drive icon to open it. The file or folder that you copied should be listed.
11. Repeat steps 6-9 until you have copied all the files or folders you want to back up.