Hard drive back-up/recovery

[beardymouse]

Hello,

I've had my Macbook for 8 months and it sounds like the hard drive is failing. Recently the MB has been sluggish and yesterday it wouldn't even turn on. All I could hear was a clicking sound which I assume is the HDD trying (and failing) to get going.

After switching it off and on again I got to the folder and question mark icon. After another restart (and a lot of waiting), OSX finally loaded up.

Now I can't do much work because now and again the HDD starts playing up and the clicking sound begins. What I need though is a back-up of my files. Is there a way of taking a snapshot or something similar to a CD image that would be quicker than a full system back-up? Or is there a way to fix this problem without taking it to the Apple store?

 

[misterredman]

You can burn your personal files to CDs or DVD (from the finder or using a third party app like toast) , to an external hard drive or to a networked computer. Up to you which method is better.
I would do that immediately! I would also start by copying the irreplaceable documents (like photos, things you have written, etc), since you can always reinstall the system and the applications from the original discs. Some applications, like superduper let you copy the user files only to an external device.
Once you did that you may want to clone your entire system to an external HD for later restoring, assuming the drive is still working then.

 

[superflint]

Back up fast!

After backing up your data you can clone your drive to an external hd using Superduper:
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html