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With the external you can also save a Win7 backup image so that if it ever becomes irreparable you can reimage your HD or its replacement in 20 minutes: Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup
However this is where having the separate data partition can come in handy, so that you can keep your User folders there to keep the C image smaller and more manageable.
To do this option, copy your active User folders (Documents, Pictures, Music, etc) to D, then rightclick each to link to the related Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums. Once they show up there then you can delete the original folder's content on C.
Now if Win7 ever becomes irreparable you can reimage to C and your latest data set will be current and safe in its own separate partition. This is the principle behind using a separate data partition, so you know.