To start with, you can't just switch drives from one computer to another and expect it to boot to windows, unless the computers are the exact same make and model. You can put your C drive into the new computer and if you have a windows xp disc, do a repair install. If it asks for a product key, look on the case of the new computer for the sticker. If the new computer came with a HD and works, I'd just start transferring important data to it either with dvd or flash drives and eventually get it setup the way you like. The people that do a clean install are erasing the whole drive. Yes, a re-install will erase your entire C: drive, a repair install would leave your documents intact. You're going to need a windows xp disc to get started, also software needs to be installed to work, not just a simple transfer folders thing. You may be able to put your old C drive in the new computer, boot from the xp disc, go to the recovery console and fixboot or fixmbr and she may boot up. Don't know what windows genuine advantage or activation will do noticing your C drive has a different motherboard, video and ram.

Loralee you can use Windows Explorer to remove any entries from the computer hard drive or the external although if it is a program then the Add/Remove feature should be used first then check Explorer for remnants left by untidy uninstallers. In Windows Explorer up at the top is a small box icon with a down arrow, here you can elect to see the contents as bare names, Details, icons etc. Select Details so you can see the date and size of each backup. Now you can compare them and if they are all somewhat of the same size then you could safely assume they are all full backups and later ones not incremental on the original. Of course the best solution in my mind would be to run a full anti virus and anti malware scan, run Ccleaner or similar to clean all the junk off the computer then create a new image and remove all the others. That is as long as you are happy with the way the computer is behaving right now. No point backing up while there are any annoying issues unresolved.

And, can I access, and work on, files from the backup site from anywhere? How would they get back to my office computers if, say, I'm in Florida, work a file from my laptop and get back to work, will the updated file be on my office PC? I hope I worded that right ...

How are you backing up to the Maxtor? With some specialized software that creates images, or is it copying the files and folders? If it's copying files and folders so you can view the files on the Maxtor just as you do on your C: drive, you should be able to restore everything with windows explorer. If you're using software that came with the drive and it's backing up in some proprietary format, you'll need to use that software to restore. Depending on the software in question, it may be easier to use it to restore, anyway. Some backup software that ships with external drives has a simple one button backup/restore function.