SharpStyle Labs

There are a few things that you should back up:

• If you are using Microsoft Office 2003, run “Microsoft Office 2003 Save My Settings Wizard” located within Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools. It is a very handy utility that backs up your document templates, outlook settings (rules, email accounts, signatures, etc) and many other items.
• Backup Outlook PST and OST files
• C:\Documents and Settings\{UserName}\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
• Favorites
• Firefox (or other browser you are using) Bookmarks
• My Documents
• Desktop
• MS SQL Server Data/Backup folders (C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL)
• TimeSnapper Snapshots (C:\Documents and Settings\{UserName}\Application Data\TimeSnapper\) move the whole folder to preserve settings
• Windows Live Writer drafts (usually WLW is smart to put everything into “My Documents\My Weblog Posts”)
• Cisco VPN Profiles: C:\Program Files\Cisco Systems\VPN Client\Profiles
• X1 Saved searches C:\Documents and Settings\{UserName}\Local Settings\Application Data\X1 Desktop Search\saved searches
• Look through C:\Documents and Settings\{UserName} folder
  • Specifically “Application Data” and “Local Settings\Application Data”
  • Many programs store your configuration files here
• I prefer to retain my Skype history, so I move it to my new computer before installing Skype C:\Documents and Settings\{UserName}\Application Data\Skype\{SkypeUserName}
• Look through Program Files and make sure you backed up all the licenses
• If you are planning to wipe your machine for a clean reinstall, open device manager, expand all nodes and take a screen capture
  • If you have some specific drivers, make sure to back them up. There are a few utilities that are available for this.
  • In most cases you are better off downloading the latest greatest

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=157838

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread207339.html