...but you need to keep these backups current. As long as you have backed up all of your current documents then most computers have Recovery CD's or at least the full Windows CD which allow you to reinstall the operating system. (The Recovery CD's will reinstall ALL of the software which came with the computer.) If you don't have the full "Recovery CD", then you'll also need the installation CD's for other installed programs like Microsoft Office or other software that you have installed on the computer...
It is important to keep copies of any new video/audio driver installers that you may have downloaded or other things like Adobe Acrobat installers, or small program installers like that, but most other programs need to have the original CD that was used to install the program...
If you previously made backups of your documents and burned them to CD, then you probably have a CD burner on the computer. Which burner software do you have? Have you used the CD burner much? If not, then you need to open the burning software, place a blank CD-R disk in the CD-burner drive, then add the various files to the data layout, (My Documents, pictures, music, etc.) then burn it to the CD.
Hope this helps.
Grif
Hi. I don't think I have done this since I bought my computer and that was in 1999. I forgot how to do it. I also wanted to know if, by doing this, it will save everything I have put on my computer since I bought it? (If that makes sense.). I have backed up pictures onto disks, Word documents and some Power Point presentations--all onto CD's. Should I back up onto a CD (or several) or a floppy? What about getting one of those external memory sticks (hope that's what those things are called!) that plug into the USB port. Would that be a better option?

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