make bootable recovery disk possible?

hi everyone, i was just wondering since i mess up my compuer so much. i was wondering if it is possible to make a recovery disk(like hp, compaq.etc) that will copy all of my stuff onto a dvd disk and make it bootable. so whenever i want to do a clean installation i can do a recovery instead(which has the programs preinstalled). can someone help me out? thanks.

Sound like you are looking for a drive imaging program.
I personally use Drive Image 2002 with no problems. I have the option of keeping image on Disc or HD<hidden or visisble> partition. I do both Disc and HD hidden partition. I like having a hard backup, with the option of changing images on the HD.
Norton Ghost (I never used it, but heard it works pretty good), is another imaging program that works well. It depends of how big an image you plan to make. The amount of discs you will have to use for an image is dependant on that. I know the newer version of 'Drive Image' finally does imcremental backups now.
Hope this helps.

it does sound like the program that i am looking for, but will this proram allow me to restore all the information on my whole drive(including OS)? i know that the windows built-in backup program will let me restore even the system files(but it won;'t boot afterward because the system files are not compatable with the existing files). if it does allow me to do a restore of my whole system, then will it keep the current system, replace the currentsystem, or will it be like a dual boot thing going on(i don want that). ghost has problems with burner drivers. it only works with certain burner. thankx

Yeah it will make an exact, I mean exact copy of your information. It is an image of your drive. basically it is carbon copy of everything on your HD , not just lil bits, it will even have ALL your OS including cookies.... even down to any lil errors that you may have. Read up on it. I like it. I use drive image 2002 and it supports a few scsci buners, the newer version may support DVD-R or what ever format you have. If not look into another "imaging" program that looks appealing. I looked at the link for drive image 7. It has all the best of Norton Ghost but the power of drive image and should support your drive. Don't quote me on that though.
There is a link for supported drives on that page you could check to see if your burner is supported.
Here is the link so you can look at it. I might get this if I have to buy an update to my software. It does look nice.
http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/
You never will regret getting a backup solution, just find the product that works for you. BTW Windows XP Pro has built in backup features.

get success people. i am currently installing my new windows xp with sofeware and windows xp sp2 in all 1 simple step. all i had to do was choose which drive i want it to be on (i didn't really have to choose, but i think its a better idea so it doesn't replace my current OS), and it does everything by itself. it will install windows with sp2 and install programs that i want (office, securefx, secure crt, etc) all at once. isn't it sweet? i love it. if anyone wants to try it here! http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=320685

Edit: btw, virtual PC is slow as a snail. takes 1.5-2+ hours to install xp instead of 30 minutes.

I have never had any problem with Ghost. I have used a ton of different cd and dvd burners and never had any problems with any of them. Could just be luck but Ghost is suppose to have the best compatability out of all the backup programs.