Question about repairs and my files.

[JersyDvl]

My 24" imac has a dark smudge under the screen (uncleanable even when the glass is lifted up). Some Google searches later I find that I'm going to need to send the imac in for repairs (1 year warranty is good till upcoming September).

My first question is how long should I expect to be without a computer?
Second, I have most of my DVD's (movies and TV show DVD's) and music on my computer with the original disks at my parents to save room in my tiny apartment. Should that be any problem with Apple?

Thanks for any replies.

 

[AndyMoore]

I had the exact same problem with my late 2007 iMac. Luckily I had Applecare, so it got sent back to an Authoriser Repair center. In total it was gone for a week.

Before sending it though, I backed up everything with Time Machine and did a bootable backup with Carbon Copy Clone then deleted my user account and erased the all the free space.
A bit OTT I know but there's nothing wrong with being a little paranoid

 

[JersyDvl]

Hehe I wish I could afford a Time machine. I might be able to get a WD external but i was hoping not get that extreme.

 

[Guiyon]

Back everything up. There is a chance that your HD may be wiped, even if the service they are doing does not technically require touching the HD.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Apple always warns you to backup your data before giving up your computer for repairs......there's always the possibility of the unexpected. They'll refuse any responsibility for lost data so backup anything you don't want to lose

 

[Tumbleweed666]

Hehe I wish I could afford a Time machine. I might be able to get a WD external but i was hoping not get that extreme.

I think you mistook Time Machine for Time Capsule.
And in addition to the other replies, irrespective of backing up for the repair, you are living on borrowed time if you don't have any backups anyway.

I would have two backups, taken with two separate method (such as TM and cloning) on two different physical media.

 

[AndyMoore]

Hehe I wish I could afford a Time machine. I might be able to get a WD external but i was hoping not get that extreme.

Time Machine comes with OS X 10.5 so you've already got it, just add an external drive.

As everyone has already said, backup everything. Twice. Three times if you can do an online backup or take a backup drive offsite to a friends or family members house.

 

[mlts22]

At the minimum, use Time Machine to an external hard disk. I'd also consider using a service like Mozy that backs your stuff up to the cloud so you have access to it even if your external hard disk breaks.