Ummm, Backup?

[D L L]

Hi guys.
I'm new to Linux, so this'll be my first installation.
I want to completly remove Vista from my laptop, but I just want to know, what exactly should I back up?
I mean, I've backed up all my music and videos, and I can re-download all me drivers 'n' stuff from the Vaio Support site. Now is there any way to backup Vista? And, should I back up Vista, just incase? Is there any way it can go wrong and I'll need to re-install Vista?
All help appreciated ^^
D L L

[micia]

Hello, welcome to Sabayon forums

What do you mean with "Backup VIsta"?
You should backup all your relevant data, if you want to remove that. If you want to
keep it for safety reasons (while learning to use Linux or something like that) it is up to you.
Also if something goes wrong, Live CDs and
things like that will help you very much.

[D L L]

LiveCDS?
Where can I get a Vista LiveCD?
Thanks for the response by the way ^^

[micia]

I mean Linux LiveCDs, in the occurrence of your system being really bad they can be an invaluable resource.

[joeoden]

This is the short version of what I do

Backup master boot record
Backup partition table
Backup Vista partition
Backup other partitions

Test backup images by doing a restore simulation

Any files that I have created and wish to access later are copied to removable media (usb drive, rewritable CD and so on)

Program to use
partimage

Live CD to have
SystemRescueCD

How to (Help files)
SystemRescueCD website

There are others available, I'm just use to using SystemRescueCD and because it is based on Gentoo

Hope this answers your question
Have fun
Joe