I'm getting my old Macbook fixed, but it will take a few weeks for it to be replaced. How do I backup my entire Macbook for migration to the new Macbook using an external hard drive?

Hello!

I've had my Macbook for about 2 1/2 years now with insurance from PC World here in the UK. I was hesitant at first to hand in my Macbook earlier to be replaced using the insurance as it takes 2 weeks to be fixed (terrible, I know).

But now that it's the end of the summer holidays and I'll be returning to the university, I think that it's the perfect time to hand it in for repair.

I have an external hard drive capable of containing everything (apps, files etc.), but what is the best way of backing up the files, and how would I go about uploading the data onto the new Macbook? I remember on startup that there was an option to extract files from an external hard drive?

Thanks,

Adam.