well, it depends.

when one says backup
nowadays, it is no longer
a simple dos backup of
a little 40 megabyte
harddisk.

now you can not only
backup up the disk, but
have the option to backup
up the system files only or
just the registry or just the
personal files you create
and store on your pc.

in my opinion disk
imaging is better than the
old backup method.

here is more information
but the question you asked
has many answers and no one
here knows which is best for
your particular situation:

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/you...data/what.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...n/default.mspx

you can also try googling for
microsoft one care &
system mechanic.

the two programs above are provided
as examples and they do have their
drawbacks, but so does every
software in the world.

in regards to registry cleaners -
the following link is just
one of many possibilities:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/a...leaner_why.htm

btw: since at this time you
are on a fact finding mission,
so you will need to begin narrowing
down your possibilities or preferences.

if and when you decide to take a certain
course of action, let us know
and we can provide you with
any drawbacks or tips.

--

db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..)))º`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯` ·...¸)))º¸.
)))º·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. )))º`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸))) º


..


"Grampy Pete" wrote in message
...
Dell 4600-4 years old, xp home sp2, 2.66Ghz, 768 mb ram, user 5 scale 1-10.
need reliable cleaner and ez way to back up first. Thank you
--
Grampy Pete