How do you know what to backup? It gets kind of messy as everyone has their computer setup differently and uses different programmes but I will attempt to give you an idea here. Try to learn to use Windows Explorer to find your way round your computer so that you understand where files are saved and opened from. You do not save files in Word for example. You save them in a folder on your computer and Word remembers where to find them. During a backup you can't ask Word to go find your file for you. Same goes for pictures in picasa. The pics are not in Picasa. Picasa knows where to find them on your computer.

Files
This means any files you have created or kept. By files we mean any typed documents, any pictures, any presentations, spreadsheets or music and video. Many people these days store these in My Documents so all you need to do is copy the whole of the My Documents folder to your backup media.

Program Data
Most programmes you use will have data stored somewhere that you need to keep. For example, you might have created a template in a word processing programme so you need to locate that and back it up. Accounting programmes might have your data stored somewhere other than in My Documents so you need to check out their help files to find out how to backup and/or look in the File menu and see if there is an option to Export which might give you a backup. I can't tell you here how to backup your own programme's data unless it is a programme I use myself. Here are some examples though.

Webshots - I use a very old version of Webshots desktop and have downloaded a lot of wallpaper into it that I don't want to lose or find again. To back it up I have to go to the drive it is installed on, D: in my case ->Program Files -> Webshots and backup the Collections folder. Xara - I have to go to the Xara folder in the Program Files as before but then go into the templates folder and backup my "Projects". Also while you're at it take a look in the the Application Data folders which can be found under Documents and Settings -> Owner -> Applicationd Data or Documents and Settings -> Owner -> Local Settings -> Applicationd Data.

My digital camera came with software that I installed off a CD. I use that software to get my pics from my camera onto my computer. You don't have to do it this way, I just find it the best for me. So how do you backup those pics? Well, you have to find out where the software put them or tell the software where to put them for easy backing up. I have told my software to download photos from my camera into My Pictures. Take a look in all the menus for your programme (in Fuji's FinePixViewer look in the Settings menu and click on Save Image Settings.... A window will open allowing you to chose some settings. After Base Folder Settings you will see a browse button which will allow you to navigate to and chose where you want your pics saved).

Internet
When your surf the net you often save sites so that you can visit them again. It depends on what programme you use to do your browsing as to how you backup those saved sites. In Internet Explorer they are called Favourites and you can find the Favourites folder in C: (if that's your main drive) -> Documents and Settings -> Owner.
In Opera they are called Bookmarks and they are stored in a file called opera6.adr. This file can be found in Documents and Settings -> Owner ->Application Data -> Opera -> Opera (again) -> Profile. Alternatively you can go to the File Menu -> Import/Export -> Export Opera Bookmarks and save the .adr file in My Documents where it will get caught in a backup.
In Firefox click Bookmarks Menu -> Manage Bookmarks and then in the 'Bookmarks Manager' window click File -> Export. This will export the bookmarks as an .html file which can be imported back into Firefox later.

Email
Email can end up quite a big file if you don't keep it tidy. So first off delete any emails that you have no need to keep as it just makes the backup process painfully slow. Remember though that whatever you delete you will not be backing up so only delete what you KNOW you won't want later. I'm going to tell you here how to backup in Outlook Express (OE). If you use a different programme for email eg. Thunderbird, Reach-a-Mail, Opera, it will be different but quite possibly similar.

For some strange reason microsoft see fit to hide your emails in a folder that is about 7 layers deep ie. you have to open at least 6 folders to find it. Rather than have to do this every time you make a backup I suggest you change where OE stores the email. To change the Store folder you first need to make a new folder somewhere easy to find. I suggest making a folder called Mail in My Documents. Next...

• Open OE and click on the Tools menu and click on Options
• Click the Maintenance tab.
• Click the Store Folder... Button about 2/3 of the way down.
• Click the Change button and navigate to the new Mail folder you created in My Documents.
• Click the Ok buttons until you are back to OE.

Address Book

• While you have OE open click on the Tools Menu and then on Address Book...
• In the address book click the File menu then hover over Export until a submenu comes up and click Address Book (WAB).
• Navigate to the Mail folder, left click it to select it and click ok.

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