Complete backup solution for personal data?

The Synaptic package manager and also Add / Remove contain several Backup solutions. But I never used them. Maybe it will be easier if you have an USB stick. Then you can drag all your data to the stick.

Linux is a stable product. I guess you won't loosing data. I use Ubuntu already for years and never I lost any data.

Hope it helps.
Peter

Your /home folder should contain almost everything you're likely to need to back-up. From your Documents folder go up at least 2 or 3 levels to get to the "/home" folder icon. Either:-
  save the whole folder to Dvds
  use gparted to create a new partition on your drive for your entire "/home" folder
  use gparted to create a new partition of 8Gb and install Ubuntu to that and use your current install as your data partition

There is a way of doing the install without formatting your partition and on the odd occasion when it works then you keep all your data and settings intact making your back-up dvds or partition that you just created a luxury bonus. Just use the "Manual" partitioning and make sure the box for each partition labelled "Format Partition?" is UNticked, also make sure the Ubuntu partition is selected as "Mount Point /" the / mark is vital.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

Yep.

But: if the harddisc goes to heaven, I guess you're goin to loose the data. Also if you stored it in a special partition. Because the harddisk got broken. I recommend to use a different Backup drive, for example a CD / DVD or a USB stick.
Peter

True. It's easier to keep a partition intact when you're not installing to it but it's still fairly easy to accidentally format it.

I've just found loads of setting in the "/usr" folder too so stuff is a lot more scattered than i was saying before. So it's

/home
/usr

and probably more. I shouldn't assume that someone elses ansewr will fit another situation although i thought these questions were identical

Sorry,
Good luck and regards from
Tom

Ok, but if I

* backup /home and /usr,
* let my Ubuntu installation CD format the HDD,
* install the fresh new Ubuntu system,
* replace the default /home and /usr by my backupped /home and /usr folder,

does Thunderbird get along with these folders and just restore emails, accounts, passwords out-of-the-box?

If you are still having trouble with this then please post it as a new question. Only the most recent questions tend to get looked at so posting/reposting a question just before america arrives online after work/school gives the best chance of getting a good few answers.
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addquestion

If the problem has been resolved then please follow the link to the forum thread and mark it as Solved.

Good luck and many regards from
Tom :)