I would not copy applications etc - most computers are so full of old clutter that it is best to start afresh. Install your applications again, and then copy your work files.

Or consider keeping your old drive as a slave (internal or external) - wipe all the non-work files. I have always either partitioned a single drive - or added a second physical drive and pointed 'My Documents' to it - this means that, except for a few badly behaved apps (like Xara Webstyle and Actinic) which insist on burying work files in the middle of program folders, it makes backup a doddle - just backup your work drive.