What is the most reliable way of backing up your computer data/software?

Hard Drives fail periodically... External Hard Drives just as well. Data Sticks are feeble, and easily damage-prone. DVDs (Blu-Ray and the such) are definitely susceptive to scratches, but I heard that (if well taken care of) they can be the most reliable electronic media for data storage.



Scenario: If a solar storm were to hit the Earth with enough force to pretty much damage all electrical circuits and devices on Earth, what hardware would be the most likely to survive? Thanks!What is the most reliable way of backing up your computer data/software?
GMc is correct, but the rule is to back up to 2 destinations (at least), one off-premises. Back up to DVDs and keep them at the office. If your hard drive goes, you have a backup - DVD, tape, external drive, they're all good. If your house burns down you have the backup at the office. If the office burns down you have the backup at home.

If there's a solar storm bad enough to damage your hard drive you won't be worrying about your computer data, you'll be worrying about your genetic data.

Edit:
I use Karen's Replicator for backing up. Open source, free, pretty elegant code. http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptre鈥?/a>What is the most reliable way of backing up your computer data/software?
Aparently on Monday we will have the worst solar storm in 100 years. How can you worry only about the data if you have no computer to run your data. Aparently a microwave will protect your data.What is the most reliable way of backing up your computer data/software?
As you say cds/dvds can become damaged, but I think they are the more reliable method.

I usually make two copies and store them carefully.

I started doing this after an external hard drive failure.
If a solar storm of that magnitude hit earth, having your data in tact wouldn't do you much good. I use a cheep software product called Allway Sinc (allwaysync.com) to back my data up to an external drive. Yes, external drives fail, but I'm betting that mine won't fail at the same time my PC's hard drive fails.



Allway Sync backs up data periodically (determined by you) in exactly the same structure that it's in on your hard drive. No incremental backups, etc. I have mine set to back up every 5 minutes. It only backs up files that have changed since the last backup. It does it so efficiently that, most of the time, I don't even know it's running.



You can use the software for free unless you back up more than a certain number of files in a month. More than that and you have to purchase the "Pro" version. It costs a whole 20 bucks! Best computer-related 20 bucks I ever spent.



It will also synchronize two or more computers, etc. It has a lot of capability, but I only do the one-way backup. I have two jobs set up. When I'm home it backs up to the external drive. When I'm on the road, it backs up my more critical files to a flash drive. Works great.



Other than being a satisfied user, I have no connection to the Allway Sync product or the company that produces it.