ubuntu upgraded and now both sound and dvd burner don't work. i need to save my files before reinstalling an operating system. uninstalling and reinstalling brasero didn't work. is there any way to partition my hard drive, currently all being used for linux, so i can save my files?

If you are going back to a prior Ubuntu level, you simply need to move /home to a separate partition. Then re-install keeping that /home and the same userids.
Simply resize the current system to free up enough space and create the new partition - then "cp -a ..." will do it. All should be done from a liveCD like gparted to ensure no issues with mounted filesystems.
You will need to re-install any apps you added yourself to the base system over time.

My solution to this is to have two (root) partitions I flip-flop between for new releases - keep the same /home. Makes fall-back easy

could i have a step by step guide please? like
1. put live cd in
2. sudo apt ?
3. applications>?

it's just that i tried to do this before and didn't know what the numbers meant (at least i stepped back from "smthng about mounted drive and losing everything"). thanks for the live cd advice

again, i tried to do this before and couldn't see my documents anywhere. forgive me for being dense, but is it thunar i use? and where do i put in the path to the files i want? is there no browse facility?

It's hard to be specific without knowing your setup.
The gparted liveCD is best for managing partitions - it's a GUI Partition Magic look-alike. Shrink a partition by "dragging" it, and make a new one for /home.
You'll need to mount the new partition so you can copy your /home, and also update fstab for the new partition - been discussed plenty of times here. A quick search should find decent instructions.
Personally I prefer to use "cp -a ..." from the command line as it preserves permissions - GUIs might work as well, but I never use them for things like this.

googled: update fstab new partition, did some reading, got confused.

plan B. reinstall linux. i remember the install program asking me how much space i wanted to allocate to linux. is this way easier? will it automatically allocate whatever fstab allocates (a name?)? i think having a bit of memory just to keep backups in is a good idea.

linux has failed to give me that unbreakable system i so half-wanted, and i will tinker so (talking of which, how do you edit files you're not supposed to edit? whenever i try, backups appear in my documents. not that i want to, of course, just hypothetically speaking ;-)

and thanks for that cp command. i'm picking up the lingo without reading a book. if i want sound to watch heroes NOW it doesn't make sense to read up on whatever command line language linux is using which would take me a year to learn. but you say "cp" and i'm cp-ing away trying out question marks and copying files willy-nilly while i wait for another backup or sound suggestion. ooh, what fun!

i'll wait for your reply before reinstalling linux and watching heroes. there's so much info on the net, i never seem to get the tutorial i want, e.g. newbie tutorial on linux backup partitioning. you, fortunately, answer dumb questions.

this looks like a pretty good explanation of creating a separate /home on Ubuntu - even has screenshots.
Make sure everything works under the new arrangement before re-installing. On the reinstall, use the "expert/advanced" partitioning option. Pick your current main partition and give it / (root) as the mountpoint - allow it to reformat it (ext3 is fine).
Pick your newly created /home partition and give it /home as the mountpoint - do *not* allow it to be reformatted. During the install, when asked for a userid, use your current id and password.

That's about the lot I think.

How about:

1. external HD

2. Pen drive

don't get much simpler...