Refreshing, What Do I Need? *PC Help* (Off-Topic)

by Morpheus , High Charity, Friday, October 09, 2015, 13:34 (3336 days ago)

A few days ago, my taskbar and Start menu decided to stop working, and it's been affecting nearly everything I do. After talking with at least 3 Microsoft Techs, I was offered to refresh my computer, which would "delete my apps, but keep my files and folders". As it turns out, I have a lot of apps--most of which are either no longer available for purchase, download, or loan from a friend. I know this is more than likely part of the problem, but I need to find a way to back up said apps so I don't lose them forever. I tried backing up my entire C drive, but there wasn't enough space on my backup HDD. I had a few others from several years back, but for some reason they're not displaying when I plug them in. My computer makes the 'Device Added' noise, but nothing else happens. Once I'm sure my applications are backed up safely, I plan to refresh the computer and (hopefully if this solves the problem) restore them bit by bit until I can isolate the troublemaker.

So I guess my main question is this: I've got both the 32 and 64 bit Programs Files folders backing up right now--are there any other application areas that I need to backup as well? Since I can't back up the entire C drive(and to be honest, I'm not that jazzed about having to buy a SIXTH external), what else do I need to save to prevent a total loss?