Ordinary files? Name one or two. I certainly don't want to go back into
the MSBackup help screens. Can it be the Archive attribute has changed
on them? Can it be Accessed Date has changed, if that would do it?

MSBackup is visually impressive & certainly has endless docs. But it is
a poor tool for a full system backup. It will not span media, and it has
a limit of 2 GB. You will not upgrade to a new OS with it, as it is
incompatible with other versions of itself. Also, you will go nuts
trying to do incrementals, archive bits, etc., I'm sure. To do a full
system restore from it, you need to fresh install Windows first. And
there is tweaking involved. It WON'T be pretty. Take a look at
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];Q166172
Duplicating Windows 95/98/98 Second Edition Installation to a New Hard
Disk

Once you have a functioning system, especially one close to a clean
install, do a full system backup. If you have multiple partitions, I
guess a backup is a bit more complex. It depends upon the ties between
the Registry & the other partitions, as to whether they must be backed
up concurrently. Also, if you've changed the hardware since the backup,
you may need to change it back before a restore.

http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/index.html Backup & partitioning strategy
http://home.wanadoo.nl/geurt/home.html Extended Operating System Loader
http://powerquest.com/driveimage/ Drive Image
http://www.acronis.com/products/trueimage/ TrueImage
http://www.arjsoftware.com ARJ Archiver
http://www.betterbackup.com/ Retrospect CD Backup
http://www.bootitng.com/ 's BootIt NG, has a variety of backup
capabilities: Copy to HDD, or Image to HDD or to CD. (TBIView, freely
downloadable, can retrieve individual files from an Image.)
Shrink/expand your partitions without data loss. Multi-boot, if you
dare. Free, run from floppy, but pay up as I did if satisfied. To
install & use beyond 30 days, $34.95.
http://www.cdrfaq.org/ CD R/W Backup
http://www.cyberiapc.com/backup.htm MyOwnBackup (MOB) (Free)
http://www.han-soft.com/habt.php Auto Backup (30-day free trial)
http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/cposupport/swdl.pl?c=co105&i=co105en&p=hpcdwriter2
Simple Backup
http://www.karenware.com/ PtReplicator (Free)
http://www.lifesaverbackup.com/
http://www.mvps.org/links.html Should have good info
http://www.pcmag.com/ Lots & lots of sturdy downloads. There is a $20
yearly charge now.
http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic  Partition Magic
http://www.ranish.com/part/ Ranish Partition Manager
http://www.rescue-me.net/gold.html
http://www.simtel.net/pub/dl/58307.shtml Backups
http://www.stompinc.com/bump/bump_details.phtml?stp Backup MyPC
http://www.thirdstar.net/thirdstar_datarecovery.htm Data recovery
http://www.tomsterdam.com/ BU process, performance, etc.
http://www.v-com.com/product/pc_ind.html  Partition Commander
http://www.veritas.com Backup apps
http://www.xxcopy.com/ Detailed Procedure Copy (Free)
http://www.zeleps.com/ Partition re-sizer (Free)

All gathered at this site. Whichever you choose, approach it carefully
and verify all is well. After making a copy, run Scandisk/Defrag on it.
If it's an Image, use it's verify option; perhaps, restore it and do a
Scandisk/Defrag.

http://www.pchelpandconsulting.com/links/windows.html WinDrvExpert
http://www.jermar.com/wdrvbck.htm WinDrvBckup free version

Those last two supposedly back up all currently installed drivers, such
that they can be reinstalled. I never tried it.