archived vs. clean install?

[superspud]

I appologize if this has been covered but im about to install leopard and need a quick answer...

what is the difference? i do NOT want to delete anything on my comp, i want it all to carry over to leopard when i install it... would that be archived?

if i back up everything to my external hard drive that i want to save is that how you do a clean install?

what are the advantages and disadvantages of each

again sorry if this has been covered a million times, just looking for a quick answer before i take the plunge

 

[synth3tik]

archive and install. Archives all your data then does a clean install. Then places all your stuff back.


Clean install just wipes and installs