If I copy the *.prel files will that give me all I need to start working from backup if I get a harddisk failure?

or do I need to copy from any of the folders: "Encoded Files", "Adobe Premiere Elements Auto-Save", "Adobe Premiere Elements Preview Files", "Media Cache Files" ?

Of Course i will also copy my DV video files and my folder with music files which will reside in same structure afterwords as before m:... etc

No, the only file you need is the .prel file. All the others will be reconstructed again as needed.

Why not do a test run to verify it? Copy your .prel file to a new location and rename or move the folder/s of the other stuff temporarily. When you start the project, PE will ask where the source files are, you tell it where and Bob's your uncle! Note that there is a little box you can tick in the explorer-like window to display only exact matches of the file name PE is looking for.

ok thanks

Jan,

As Peter says, you will need only your PREL and your Assets.

I create a folder structure for each Project and all of my work is done there. I will Copy any Assets, like SFX files, music and artwork into their respective sub-folders (so the originals are elsewhere). The only "original" material in there is my Capture DV-AVIs from tape. When I wish to archive, I just Copy the entire Project hierarchy over to an external HDD. I'll then Delete things like the Media Cache files and the CFA and PEK files (from the Audio). Now, I do Copy my AutoSave files, but that is only as a fallback, should something become corrupt. They are small (just PRELs), but I've had to go back a couple of times. I also archive and catalog my tapes and do not ever erase and re-use these, so if I loose my Capture files, I could just re-capture again. Some lost time, but no lost footage.

I have not explored the Archive function in PE, but even in Pro, I usually just do a Windows-level Copy, rather than Project Manager.

By keeping everything in a structure with my Project, it's basically a one-button process to either Copy, or Delete, when done (except for the removal of the Media Cache, etc.).

Hunt