Backup Dying HD in Target Mode?

Question

I got the folder question mark icon. Disk Utility could not fix it and repeated the ominous "incorrect number of thread records" & "invalid volume file count". DiskWarrior made a good attempt, but with the thousands of "diskwarrior speed reduced to disk malfunction" over 14 hrs. on my sister's machine, with my Macbook in target mode, it became clear that my hd is damaged and I need to backup & install a new one. Luckily, I am still covered by AppleCare.
Shamefully, I did not have a backup of my entire hd. I had been looking into backup storage (&NAS) options and actually have a new ReadyNas NV+ arriving tomorrow. Unfortunately, my hdd did not wait to die. (R.I.P. (-_-) sniffle)
Now I am going to dump the music/movie files stored on my WD exhd, into the ReadyNas hd(s), and then use it to backup my macbook hd (again, through, my sister's macbook using target mode).
Being that I have never done a backup of a whole hd and I am also very unsure of how the errors will effect the backup and subsequent restore of my macbook, my question is: What is the best method or software to go about using?
Should I just use the disk utility & "restore" it to my WD exhd? Or should I use a program like Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner? Or should I just be transferring copies of files/licenses/etc, since there may be corruption in the system files and I do not want that copied back to my new Macbook hd?
I think it is pretty obvious that my understanding of what the **** I am doing is limited. (^_^)
Any help/insight/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

For you given situation you should just clone the drive to your external. Once you get a new drive and new system installed you can try restoring individual files from the clone. The easiest way is to use the Restore option of Disk Utility:
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the drive to which you will restore or backup.
Source means the drive you are restoring from or backing up.
Although a NAS may be nice you cannot use it for a bootable backup. If the NAS doesn't support the Apple filesystem and AFP then you may find problems when using it for backup. Windows and Linux do not support the same filesystems and prevent certain illegal characters in file names that are permitted in OS X. Furthermore, NAS backup is slow especially if it isn't over Ethernet - Gigabit Ethernet.
I tend to prefer more traditional methods:
Basic Backup
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. Carbon Copy Cloner (Donationware)
6. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
7. Intego Personal Backup (Commercial)
8. Data Backup (Commercial)
9. SilverKeeper 2.0 (Freeware)
10. MimMac (Commercial)
The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
2. Toast
3. Impression
4. arRSync
Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete FireWire drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.