How do I back up my files when I can't go to the startup?

Hello,
my iMac (10.6.4) has been slow lately so I run my Disk Utility to figure out what's wrong.
It told me to repair the disk using the installer cd so I did it, but seems like it can't fix it either
and I can't go to the start up no more. (It stays forever at the apple logo and spinning thing...)
This is what I saw when I was running the Disk Utility from my installer cd.
It says there's 'invalid node structure'
So I think there's no way else than formatting my HD but is there any way to back up my files at this point?
I have 1T external hd (usb) that I want to back up everything before formatting my computer.
Plese help!
Thank you.

…is there any way to back up my files at this point?
Only if you have a bootable backup/clone or Time Machine backup on an ext HD or have another computer that you can connect the faulty one to that's been placed in target disk mode.

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