Do you have critical data on your laptop? If not, it'd be easier to just wipe the whole thing instead of trying to back it up.
If there is important stuff on there, you probably want to mirror the whole drive on to the external. I'm not sure how to do that, but copying one or two folders probably won't do the trick. There's probably software on the net somewhere that'll mirror a hard drive onto another one.
Just a note, I know you already know this, but I'm just clarifying: NEVER download .exe files from Limewire. I've never seen one that doesn't include spyware, adware, or actual viruses.
-rock
edit #1: I just found your other thread, and I'd just like to reiterate (oops, what was his name?) somebody's post: You probably should save images, contact lists, favorites, and other created files (papers, word processed documents, spreadsheets, etc.).
