Are you asking whether you should load the applications and operating system on the external drive? If so, the answer is probably "no" for speed and many other reasons. If you are asking about making a backup copy of the OS and applications on the external drive, the answer is also probably "no". Most applications and OS's cannot be just copied or restored from a backup device unless you are using special backup software that makes a disk copy. The reason is that the installation process sets many pointers and registration entries that are difficult to restore. The best backup for applications and OS's is to keep your original install CDs. Now, if you downloaded an install file, you can and should keep it on your backup. You should also backup any databases, and other files you have created. Hope this helps! Frank -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Becky Pleiman Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 1:43 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [GEN-COMP-TIPS] New External Hard Drive - Need Help Hi, Guess I wasn't clear with my original questions. INRE new External Hard Drive I purchased it, primarily, to use as a back-up for my data. However, Should I load my operating system (Windows 98 SE) onto the new drive? Should I load application software, genealogy, Word, Excel, etc. onto the new drive? Thanks