How to Backup Wallet

[jackjack]

Either rename wallet.dat to something else so bitcoin makes a new wallet.dat, or use my bitcoin fork with --wallet flag

Can you elaborate how this works a little more?  If I install bit coin on a thumb drive it is still going to use the
wallet.dat in my users dir on win 7?  So I have to rename that walletsavngs.dat and then it will make a new one with no coins in it?

then how do I transfer some of the savings to the new one... I just want to make sure I don't screw things up and end up losing my coins, not that I have a gigantic amount but I figure better to understand this now rather than screw things up royally later.

Yes, yes, yes
To do the transfer:
 write the address of your new empty wallet
 rename it (your new empty wallet) to emptywallet.dat
 rename walletsavngs.dat to wallet.dat
 start bitcoin
 send money to the address you wrote
 you now have your old wallet empty and the new one filled with your money

I really wanted to just have an encrypted whole version on a thumb drive... does it ALWAYS place the wallet.dat file on your local machine? meaning you can't just walk around with your wallet all on your thumb drive without a machine
and say, then go use it somewhere (like you would a regular cash wallet)

My idea is to have several high grade flash drive wallets and keep one on a key chain so if I was sitting at an internet cafe or something that accepted bitcoins I could do it... more places in NYC are starting to take them.... but how do you do it if you're not home?  I don't want to use some third party service either....  I'm thinking you have it on a thumb drive encrypted with a password but I'm not sure how to go about doing this.

Some say never put your wallet into another machine but then how would you have bitcoin currency on you without carrying around a laptop or something?  I imagine having an amount that you need to use would not be a big risk just as you can't live your life in fear of having cash in your wallet that you're going to get mugged.  You carry the appropriate amount of cash you need in your wallet you don't usually carry your life savings around with you... 
some people are debt card crazy but I don't like banks and companies knowing every god damn ting I do and then marketing to me and tracking me... it's annoying... this is one of the things I like about bitcoin.

I believe in the next version, bitcoin will be able to handle different wallet so that problem will be solved

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[Blackout]

ok... I'm sorry if I am still being a little dense, but what exactly do you
mean "write the address of your new empty wallet"

How do I make a new empty wallet? By just naming any plain old file emptywallet.dat and saving it with notepad or something? Or do I have to run and install a bitcoin client on a separate machine?

Or are you saying.... once I rename my wallet.dat to walletsavings.dat - the bitcoin client will automatically create a new wallet.dat and then a new adress to it, and THAT is the file I rename to emptywallet.dat and then rename
walletsavings.dat back to wallet.dat and poof, my coins are there again when I retstart the client... then I send to that address...   close the client and do the renaming thing again and take start the client.... wait to receieve the coins... repeat process with multiple names and store multiple walletsavings1.dat walletsavings2.dat around in various secure locations?

Then you just close bitcoint client, move the wallet back in and rename it as wallet.dat when you want to use the coins from that particular wallet and start up the client again.

What would happen if you did this while the client was running?

[jackjack]

ok... I'm sorry if I am still being a little dense, but what exactly do you
mean "write the address of your new empty wallet"

I was meaning "write down somewhere the bitcoin address of the new wallet", to know where to send your coins

How do I make a new empty wallet? By just naming any plain old file emptywallet.dat and saving it with notepad or something? Or do I have to run and install a bitcoin client on a separate machine?
Or are you saying.... once I rename my wallet.dat to walletsavings.dat - the bitcoin client will automatically create a new wallet.dat and then a new adress to it, and THAT is the file I rename to emptywallet.dat and then rename
walletsavings.dat back to wallet.dat and poof, my coins are there again when I retstart the client... then I send to that address...   close the client and do the renaming thing again and take start the client.... wait to receieve the coins... repeat process with multiple names and store multiple walletsavings1.dat walletsavings2.dat around in various secure locations?

Then you just close bitcoint client, move the wallet back in and rename it as wallet.dat when you want to use the coins from that particular wallet and start up the client again.

Yes exactly, sorry for my poor english

What would happen if you did this while the client was running?

I don't know, but it's not a good idea

[Blackout]

Ok.  Thanks for clarifying. I think I get it now. So if you want to secure your coins you only need the
wallet.dat file on a usb keychain or somewhere offline stored (with a backup) you don't need the whole client.

[jackjack]

Absolutely
On the other side, stealing your wallet.dat suffices to steal all your coins inside it

[Blackout]

Right so obviously you be careful with it as cash and store it in safe places and encrypt it and not store all of it in one place.

Although it took a -$3 negative hit today. 
 
Too many miners not enough buyers and users.