Huh.
You may recall just after Christmas I was posting (over here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2642021/posts?page=77#77) about a network attached storage device I bought; such a thing may be just what you need. If/when your actual computer bites the dust, all of your valuable files WON’T be trapped on its hard drive.
You can attach such a device to any PC*, and many have two internal drives that the unit continuously keeps as “mirrors” of one another, so if one fails, all of your precious data is still 100% intact on the other drive.
Here’s the unit I bought.
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=290
Setup was easy, and since it shows up in Windows Explorer as a regular hard drive, there’s no learning curve to using it.
I moved ALL of my data folders onto it just as they had been on my PC, and I sleep at night knowing that all of the files I care about are backed up.
* - Many of these devices connect via USB, but some — like mine — need an Ethernet port to connect to; usually on a router somewhere between your computer and the cable coming in from your ISP. Shop for what suits your situation best.