With all the information present on personal and business computers, it’s important that all their data is somehow backed up in the event of a crash. Tape drives, one of the oldest data storage devices out there, store computer information on a magnetic strip of tape to archive information from the device. The tape is a gum pack-size, malleable, celluloid-type material which can be both read and erased. It is typically protected by a plastic cover to avoid damaging the actual tapes. They are either built into the computer or used externally and are available in several sizes, starting in the 20-80 GB range for individual users to terabytes for servers and bigger computer networks. They are typically used as a last resort storage option in order to back up data including files, folders, drives, and more.