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Should I back everything up?

bill4588

bill4588

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Well, I was planning on taking my Macbook in for repair because it was having random shutdowns, screen flicker, and it's turning orange. But since the latest software update, the random shutdowns as well as the screen flicker are gone. It seems now that the only thing needed to be fixed is the casing. Do you think i will lose my data? I don't see why I would since they're just replacing the casing. The problem is, I don't have an external drive. Should I go out and buy one or just trust that all my data will be safe?
 
Yeah, get the external drive, or some optical media, and back up anything you care about.

This isn't just because you're sending the machine out for service, any HD can call it quits at any time.
 
bill4588 said:
Well, I was planning on taking my Macbook in for repair because it was having random shutdowns, screen flicker, and it's turning orange. But since the latest software update, the random shutdowns as well as the screen flicker are gone. It seems now that the only thing needed to be fixed is the casing. Do you think i will lose my data? I don't see why I would since they're just replacing the casing. The problem is, I don't have an external drive. Should I go out and buy one or just trust that all my data will be safe?
Click to expand...

Backup EVERYTIME you send it anywhere. I also erase all my apps and docs so they cant nick my serials and vital info. Call me paranoid but you cant trust anyone these days.

I had a graphics card replaced once and received a call that everything was fine and should go and pick it up. I got to the store to find two tech guys playing Americas Army on my machine (using my account) when it should of been boxed up ready for me to take home. I know its different but its still along the lines of not trusting anyone. They werent 'testing' it either as it was already classed as a closed case.

People that play Americas Army will know using someone elses account can be seen as a crime 😀
 
Back It Up.

Apple often wipe the drive on repairs so as they can test the repair is good with a known good install of OSX.
 
dang....there goes $100....oh well at least i wont have to reinstall everything. thanks for the advice!
 
google an app called superdoper for backing up the drive, it's excellent.
LaCie make excellent drives.
 
You can use something like superduper to clone your hard-drive. It's free and really easy.

Would it be possible to pull the drive from the computer? A few years ago I had a dell laptop that needed to go in for service. Since the problem wasn't related to the harddrive the tech support people told me to pull it so that it wouldn't be lost or damaged. Best part was that they sent it back with a new hard-drive too... If they'll let you pull it I would.
 
I just got a 160 gb drive for my Macbook, connected it via an external sata case, and used Carbon Copy Cloner to copy over my hard drive. It worked absolutely perfectly. Now I have my old bootable Tiger OS in the 80 gb stashed in the external in case I ever have a problem. Can't say enough about that CCC program!
 
bill4588 said:
dang....there goes $100....oh well at least i wont have to reinstall everything. thanks for the advice!
Click to expand...

$100 is nothing if you lose all your data! Trust me, myself and a few of my friends have "lost it all" Its a disaster.
 
jaguarx said:
google an app called superdoper for backing up the drive, it's excellent.
LaCie make excellent drives.
Click to expand...

like the others said, SuperDuper is super.
It only backs up what was modified and can back-up on a schedule. It's pretty awesome. 🙂
 
is it difficult to back the stuff up? is it as simple as hooking it up and installing superduper?
 
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