Back up files from Mac Mini to external hard drive

how do I back up the files and pictures to External Hard Drive before i Install the newer OSX Snow Leopard. current OSX is Leopard 10.5.8
any Helpful Tips and Tricks will be appreciated in basic step by step which I am not a Mac Expert.
Thanks!
Jay

Disk Utility can make a bootable copy of OS X onto a properly formatted External HD, but I prefer to use Carbon Copy Cloner because it is easier. Plus not only can you boot from the clone if you run into trouble, but you can continue to use it as part of your normal backup strategy.

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