backing up pc

[Daave]

im gonna re-format and reinstall windows

i know a fair amount about doing this, but i always forget to back something important up..
anyone got any pointers of what i should copy so i dont forget!!!

[vehelpfulguy]

These are the things I can think of.

All your personal files (usually in My Documents)

Any mp3s, digital photos, movies, videos, drivers etc that you may have downloaded.

Anything in your "shared" folders

Any programs you may have downloaded.

All your IE favorites (if you use IE) or Firefox favorites.

Any emails if they are not on the server, plus any e-mail setup info like pop3 and smtp address.

Note any userids and passwords you use.

Remember any special programs you use (look in add/remove programs to make a note of them)

Any picture you use as a background on your desktop.

Cannot think of anything else.

Good luck.

[mattie]

If you are using outlook express, search for and save anything ending in .dbx.
Also the address book which ends in .wab
Email account settings and internet favourites can be exported.

[rojash]

Make sure you have drivers available for all your bits and bobs, and - the thing that most people forget is the motherboard drivers (especially if the machine came with the OS already installed). I've lost count of the number of times someone has come to me with a problem with their video drivers not installing, and it's because the motherboard AGP bridge has not been installed

[stevec46]

Can't you use something like Ghost to create an image of your laptop as it is? That way if you forget something, you can reinstall everything as it was and ensure that you get what you missed, this is a fair ammount of work, but a good security blanket, not done it my self,but I presume its possible.

Steve