Hello Donald,
I see two basic options here. DVD and Tape. Yes, even tape is an option (and you don't need a tape drive to do it).
See below for suggested methods and programs:
Option 1 (DVD):
A single DVD will not hold all the information needed to backup your entire system.
But, there are two things you could use it for.
1) Backup all your important files to DVD-R so that you are assured that anything important will survive. You can group them into groups that are just slightly smaller than the capacity of a disk.
2) Get a backup program that can create a backup across multiple disks. This way, you can just select what you want, and it will span the backup across several disks and prompt you for new disks as needed. You'll probably need 10 to 12 DVD disks (you cannot use the entire 4.7 GB capacity - some is reserved for system use / file-system).
I don't have any specific recommendations there, but you should be able to find a program that will do that. A popular backup program is Dantz Retrospect:
http://www.emcinsignia.com/products/smb/retroformac/
Some other programs are listed here:
http://www.applelinks.com/index.php/more/macbackup_alternatives_to_dantzretrospect/
And, here's an article from Apple on backup methods:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106941
Option 2 (Tape):
Backup to your digital video camera (MiniDV or Digital8).
There is a program that will allow you to backup your entire hard drive to your digital video camera over FireWire. And it starts at $20 and goes up to $50 for the higher version.
http://www.coolatoola.com/
In the end, your easiest option is going to be to backup to an external hard drive for a full backup.
But, the other options are better than nothing.
I hope this helps.
