How should I go about backing up all my files and system preferences?

Hey, I'm planning on upgrading to snow leopard very soon, but I'm afraid of loosing all my files and preferences. Backing up my files isn't really the problem, it's the backing up of the system / application preferences that worries me. I have well over 150 applications, each customized the way I like. Is it possible to backup and then (after installing 10.6) restore my preferences to my computer without worries of damaging my OS?
Message was edited by: rider13

Do yourself a favor. Get an external disk that's at least twice the size of the amount used on yur internal HD (plus expected growth). 3 or 4 times is better.
Then make regular backups of your entire system. If you use Time Machine (there are other options, of course), after the lengthy initial backup, let it do it's hourly backups. They're normally very fast. This will get you two large benefits:
When you delete or change something in error (such as Save instead of Save As), or something gets corrupted, you'll have an excellent chance of recovering a previous version, easily.
When your internal HD fails (and they all do, sooner or later), or something else awful happens, you can restore your entire system to the exact state it was in at the time of any backup: OS, apps, purchase keys, configuration, settings, preferences, data, ... well, you get the idea.
You might want to review these:
Time Machine Tutorial
Time Machine 101
How to back up and restore your files
Time Machine Features
Apple - Support - Mac OSX v10.5 Leopard Time Machine
and perhaps browse the Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip.*
If you have a problem setting-up or using Time Machine, start with the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip.* It will show you how to locate the message(s) that describe the problem, then help you fix it.

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