drawing surfaces problem

Ok, ive got initialization down, and ive loaded a bitmap into a surface, but when i draw it, and part of the right bottom corner is off screen, it wont draw the surface at all. so the solution for this is supposed to be, use a clipper. Well i guess im asking, does the back buffer need a clipper to? because you are drawing things to the back buffer, then blt''n the back buffer to the primary (this is in windowed mode). As of now, only my primary surface has a clipper, but does my back buffer need a clipper too? Or does the surface that im trying to draw need a clipper? What clipper should i use, the one for the primary that was set to the window ? Thanks, --Fireking Owner/Leader Genetics 3rd Dimension Development