Hard disk replacement program

You will need to reinstall everything; you should have a complete backup and you should also erase the old hard drive before turning it into Apple. The easiest would be do make a bootable clone; that way, you can simply clone back your system. However, I don't run Windows/Bootcamp, so I do not know if something has to be done differently in that case. As for Apple "not touching other OS" - your entire hard drive will be replaced - that means whatever is on your hard drive now will be gone permanently.

You can use either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper and will need a properly formatted external hard drive. Clone your current system to the external drive and test to make sure it boots. Boot into your install disk and erase your internal hard drive and reinstall a base system. When you get your Mac back, attach the external hard drive, boot into it, make sure the internal drive is properly formatted, and clone your system back. Done.

iMac has FW connections. That's all you need. USB is slower than molasses and is the second to last choice, the last being wireless. No need for an adapter. Just use an appropriate FW cable. To test the clone, you select it from System Preferences->Startup Disk and click on Restart button. Then, launch e-maol, surf the web, and run your favorite apps. If you everything works like the original, that should be enough to convince you that works properly.

Windows cloning requires something like WinClone. See http://help.bombich.com/kb/troubleshooting/can-ccc-back-up-my-bootcamp-windows-p artition for details.

FW = FireWire. Details in your Everything Mac booklet.

Then, you need to invest in an ext FWHD. Do note that the HD only needs to be a bit bigger than the used portion of the volume that you're backing up; although, most ext HDs are at least 1 TB or larger these days. Peruse these for preliminary information

http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html

http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/backuprecovery.html

and then DL and read CCC's documentation.

You state that this is an iMac. FW is built-in. No obsolescence there. What 30-pin connector are you talking about? One time use? If you're myopic and depending solely on a Time Machine backup, you'll regret that choice. When you restore, you only copy the UISED space not the total space. Also, forget about images, that's old school and not viable in this case. Read the links and learn the modern methods.😀

There's no reason to rush ahead and get it replaced by Saturday The odds that it'll fail then are miniscule. Prepare for the swap and when you're ready start the process. It's good till at least 12 APR 13.

I see you're in good hands here, so I'll just add:

You should have an external hard drive with a backup anyway. So, if you don't have one now, this is a good time to get one. There are many different brands; a good one is here:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB

It comes with all the cables necessary. Most external hard drives are formatted for Windows, so you need to change that. When you get the drive and plug it in, go to Disk Utility (in Applications folder > Utilities), select the drive, and make sure it is formatted correctly (Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID Partition scheme (under Options). Format/partition it (which will erase the drive to get it ready) and you can then use CCC or SD to clone your entire hard drive system and files over.

1. I would not consider it for one use only. I update my clones regularly to have a good backup in case I have a problem with my hard drive (I actually have a problem with it right now). I use that as a backup.

2. Yes, you need either CarbonCopyCloner (CCC) or SuperDuper (SD) to create a bootable clone on another drive. I prefer a bootable clone; however, you could also use Time Machine which is included in the OS (not bootable though) - I choose not to use that and rely on my clones. If your hard drive has a problem, you can boot with your clone and keep working/troubleshooting your hard drive.

3. Absolutely: FW800 is much faster than USB 2; I try to avoid USB2 as much as I can - too slow. (I have not tried the new USB 3, so that may be faster, but I can't compare something I haven't tried).

4. Well, on that I hope someone else will answer here - I do not run anything Windows, so I don't know what to say here. Just in case - if you want it only for the Mac, you would format it Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with the GUID Partition scheme. You could also go to Support (at the top of the page) and search for Windows articles; another place to check is your Help section in Utilitites > Disk Utility > search for Windows > I just did that and got a full page of how to format a disk for Windows.