Resolved Best backup solutions?

I am buying a new 2TB backup drive. They all come with software included. I want one that will back up my programs as well as pictures, documents, etc. so I could do a "Baremetal" restore in case of a crash. Many of the programs are things I had on an older computer and no longer have the source for like some old freeware and shareware games and apps that have been long abandoned or an older version of something that I still use (Example - Printmaster Gold - Original edition- I know that there are new ones out but they are not backward compatible with files I created - I am a teacher and coach.) Anyway, my question is has anyone bought a drive with software that will do this or will I need something like Ghost? What backup drives would you suggest. I have a WD 500G My Book now and I am out growing it fast.
Thanks,
Jim in WV

 

They were helpful . . .

They were helpful but most of them dealt with system restore problems, etc. I was just wondering if anyone had success in doing what I hope to achieve with any particular software. The one that came with my WD drive only does data and I have not had great success with Ghost in the past. I am still running XP on that machine, Vista on the laptop and about to change to 7 on both machines so I would need something compatible. Thanks for your reply.

 

Thanks

I will check out the Acronis one and someone also suggested the Nova backup. The drive I bought is a WD but it seems to not make a complete image like Ghost or Acronis - it only gets photos, docs, etc. Thanks so much for all your help!