Hi, Meshach:

My suggestion is NOT to use Windows Backup. It is a troublesome utility that generally creates more headaches than it solves. Here are my backup tips:

1. Keep all of your important files in one location, such as My Documents. Make sure to keep mail archives, financial files, etc. in this folder.

2. Put My Documents on a different physical disk drive than your system drive, if available, or a different partition than your operating system. This way you can reinstall or restore the OS without impacting your data files.

Note: I create a complete system backup (created by Norton Ghost) once, but only for reinstalling the OS. My data file backups, I do once a week.

3. The most convenient place to back up My Documents is to an external hard drive. These things are really inexpensive and their convenience makes the expense trivial as compared with losing all of your files. I use a utility called Synctoy and run it once a week.

4. Alternatively, create a copy of My Documents to a rewritable CD or DVD using the Windows built-in function or your preferred disc burning program.

5. Always maintain all important files in two places, the original location and the backup location.

6. If you need space or simply want to remove older files you don't need access to, create an archive copy before deleting. Purchase archive quality CD-R or DVD_R discs, such as Verbatim DatalifePlus. Don't use RW discs for this purpose, as they typically have a shorter life span than write-once media.

When installing XP, the "Backup Tool " does not install by default. Here is how to install below.

  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302894