Hopefully you have learned the wisdom of good backups. You should never have to "remember" any of this stuff.

Many have already mentioned using Linux instead of Windows. I agree with that. However, it's not for everybody. You have to be willing to learn and change.

One cool thing about Linux ... If you have a full backup of your system, you can write that to a new hard disk (e.g., for the case where you old hard disk failed on you - as they all eventually will). You can take this new hard disk that was restored from your backups and shove it into just about any new computer hardware, and it will boot up and run! Maybe not perfectly - you may have to tweak a few things for optimal function (video settings mostly, but sometimes audio or WiFi) - but it will usually run and give you immediate access to all your stuff. Try that with Windows. No way will it happen. Heck, just restoring a backup to a different sized hard disk in the same computer is enough to foil Windows (it can be done, but often times attempts will fail even on this simplest of all simple restores). No way are you going to take a disk out of Windows computer A (original or restored from backup) and plug it into computer B and have it boot up unless you really really knew what you were doing when you set it up and took special steps back then, never after the fact. You can maybe access the disk from a different computer, but not boot from it and go about your merry way as if nothing every failed on you.