Just think, if you had Vista you could use the complete pc backup and then
have a mountable .vhd image of your previous installation in case you
realize you missed anything. :)

Like Rainald said, there are a handful of things that wind up under
%USERPROFILE% that aren't obvious to back up. I tend to reinstall Windows a
lot (think of it like operating system OCD) and I've gotten down the whole
copy/restore process pretty good.

First make sure you get the following folders under %USERPROFILE%
-My Documents
-Desktop
-Favorites

1) Turn *on* the options in Tools -> Folder Options to show hidden and
protected system files. It's easy to miss stuff if you can't see it.
2) If you use Internet Explorer's feeds, make sure you do File -> Export to
export them to a .opml file
3) If you have a fingerprint scanner with stored passwords, make sure you
export it.
4) If you use any apps that have machine-specific configuration (like
Hamachi, which I use) you can try to find its settings in
"%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data" or
"%USERPROFILE%\Application Data".
5) Under the above mentioned folders is where you'll find the Outlook.pst
file (very important if you are not using MS Exchange)
6) For developers: If you have any SQL databases, these will be stored under
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server under a version-specific file. Only
the data files like *.dbf,*.ldf matter, but this is an important one if
you're a developer because it's so easy to miss and there can be some really
important information there.

Finally, in case you do miss something and you want some "closure", it's a
good idea to open a command prompt and type:

dir c:\ /s >files.txt

Then take the files.txt file that it created and back that up. It will be a
place for you to look so you can see what files were on the drive before you
formatted it. Usually when I do it, I use Vista's complete pc backup then
always keep the most recent image around until next time I need it. Oh and
before creating that final backup, I uninstall any huge programs like
MapPoint, Visual Studio, MSDN Library, etc. No good reason to waste backup
space on those when I can just reinstall them.

Hope this helps.

Josh

"Sinner" <sinner@gatesofhell.org> wrote in message
news:eZJil.112$b9.17@bignews6.bellsouth.net...
>
> "Rainald Taesler" <taesler@gmx.de> wrote in message
> news:uAmplH%23hJHA.3444@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Cali 54 wrote:
>>
>>> I am copying all my saved files to an external drive. I do not
>>> save any files I generate in office or other apps in My Documents.
>>> Since I will be erasing the HD and reinstalling the OS
>>
>> Is it really necessary??
>> It's quite some work. And easy to use if one does not really have a full
>> system backup ("Blessed are the fearful. They have backups" <bg>)
>>
>>> are there any other files/folders I should NOT migrate back
>>> to the HD other than My Documents, Windows and Program files?
>>
>> "May Documents" normally would be the main thing to brink back.
>> I do not understand your scenario and don't see where you have stored
>> what (you say that your things are not stored in "May Documents", where
>> else?). Nor do I know which kinds of backups you have.
>>
>> Ask the other way around:
>> What do I need on the new system??
>>
>> The whole of the "Documents and Settings" normally should not get back
>> to a newly installed computer - except what's needed. There are just to
>> many obsolete things in there.
>>
>> And this can be quite many things - mail-folders (from OE f.e. or the
>> Outlook.pst files.)
>
>> In any case you should save the system's setting (using the Transfer
>> Wizard) for transferring them to the new system.
>>
>
> Over the years, I have identified those things that I don't want to lose.
> Those that can change daily, I backup daily. Everything else, mp3's,
> videos, etc., is backed up in multiple places. When the need arises, I
> make new backups, and then format the HDD. Now, I maintain a basic image
> that I can restore and import data from my current back-ups.
>
> After I restore, I install Windows latest updates and burn a new image.
>