If you have Windows XP Professional, you can take advantage of a powerful file and folder backup tool called ntbackup right out of the box. The Windows XP backup program is a lot more useful than previous versions of this program. You can back up files and folders to virtually any device, such as floppy drive, hard drive or tape drive. You can even use it to copy CD or DVD if you have software that tricks ntbackup into using it. Just do this:

1. Click the Start button and then click the Run command.
2. In the Run dialog box, type ntbackup in the Open text box and click OK.
3. Click on the Backup tab. In the left pane you'll see a list of drives. Expand the drive that contains the files and folders you want to back up. Find the folder you want to back up and place a checkmark in the checkbox to the left of the folder. If you don't want to copy all the files in the folder, just click on the folder and then look in the right pane for the files you want to back up. Place a checkmark to the left of the files you want to copy.
4. In the Backup media or file name, type a file name for the backup file. For example, if you want to save the backup on drive C:, type c:\todays_backup.bkf. The files will be backed up and stored in the todays_backup.bkf file.
5. Click the Start Backup button. A Backup Job Information dialog box appears. Click the Start Backup button. When the backup is done, the Backup Progress dialog box says that the backup is comple. Click the Close button.