Startup Disc and Hard Drive Partitioning Questions

[Paint Guy]

Hi, I just bought two 2 TB Firewire Mac Hard Drives. I want to use the drives for:

? File Storage
? Software Backup
? Startup Disc

I want to copy the same information to both drives and will store one onsite and one offsite. I have a few questions I don't understand though so if someone could explain a few things I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

1. Backing up Applications
Is there a way to store/save my applications on the drive so if my computer crashed I wouldn't have to reinstall the software and serial no's etc? What's involved to do this? Please explain.

2. Can I use the Hard Drive as a Computer?
Is it possible to use a part of my 2TB Hard Drive as a computer if my computer crashed and is this called a "Startup Disc"?
For example let's say my computer bit the dust, is it possible to connect to my 2TB external drive and still use the applications and then drag them onto a new computer? How would I set this up?

3. Partition Sizes?
Can I partition the drive into different parts and if so how do I determine how much space to partition for applications, startup and storage?


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