You asked, "how I can back everything up?". If you really mean that and you want the ability to restore a folder, file, or even the complete operating system (OS), applications, and data, then you're going to have to go another route.
First, the CD-ROM drive must be a "burner" type, not just a standard drive. Secondly, you'll have to invest in some imaging software that will create a mirror copy of your hard drive's content. Most of these utilities will enable you to store the image on a separate partition or drive and also burn/write to CD-R discs.
Due to the amount of time it takes to bring an OS up-to-date along with the reinstallation of all applications and their patches, I recommend obtaining an imaging backup application like Symantec's Ghost, PowerQuest's DriveImage, or BootIT NG (full or image only).
Utilities of this type will enable you to quickly restore the C drive, in case of a hard drive failure, severe virus damage, or for any other reason. For example, after completely reinstalling everything and fine-tuning it, make an image of this configuration and save it on CD-R discs or to another drive or partition. You can then utilize the program to make complete backups on a regular basis, but when it comes time that you want a fresh install, for whatever reason, simply restore the first image you made of the basic system.
I use PQ DriveImage 2002 (v6) for this purpose. I store the latest backup image on a second drive, so that I can access any file or folder for restoration using DriveImage's ImageExplorer (similar to Windows Explorer). This utility has a very low learning curve and is very user friendly.
