Backups
Let's talk about the most important thing...Backups. If you have an external hard drive, this is the quickest way to back up important data. CDs or DVDs can be used but will be much slower. You can fit up to 650MB on a CD, and 4.7GB on a DVD. You only need to backup your data, not the entire drive. You will want backups of any Office documents, pictures, MP3's, and email. You do NOT want to backup the entire windows directory or program files unless you do not have the installation CD's. Of course you never want to backup temporary files like internet history. You may want to backup cookies also, but check them out and only save the ones you want. Don't forget you web browser favorites.
Since a CD only holds 650MB, you may need to use several, depending on how much data you back up. I would highly suggest using an external USB hard drive. Another alternative is using a USB thumb drive. They also hold a lot more data than a CD. Whatever method you use, just use it at least once a week. If you use Windows NT4 (rdisk), XP or Vista/7 (NT Backup), always keep your resuce disk up to date.
This is especially crucial if you have Windows Vista or 7. Everthing in your "Documents" folder is encrypted. This means if the computer dies, and you remove the hard drive and place in another pc, your Documents folder will not be accessible. All of your files, songs, pictures, gone forever.
