Q: How to backup files onto external hard drive if my MacBook's graphics card is broken?

Hello,

I have a 15" 2012 Macbook pro with 2gb of ram, i7 processor, and a 250 gb Hard drive. In the middle of using my computer, the screen went black. Upon rebooting the computer, I noticed gray and white horizontal lines running across the screen, but I was still able to see the apple logo and loading indicator in the background. As soon as the login screen appeared, the screen went black again.

Genius Bar Diagnosis:

A few days later I took my computer to the apple store to have them diagnose the computer to determine if the hard drive was corrupt or if it was just a display issue. They found that the hard drive was still functioning properly, so no information was lost. The problem was that the graphics card needed to be replaced. So they offered to ship my laptop to an Apple repair facility in Houston, Texas (nearest one to me) and replace the graphics card, as well as any other parts that seemed to be damaged, for a flat rate of about $315. They recommended that I back up my hard drive just in case they found an issue with it (despite nothing showing up in the diagnosis at the genius bar) because the technicians at the repair facility will just swap it out for a new one.

My dilemma:

The employee at the genius bar gave me a list of Apple Authorized Service Providers that could help transfer the data from my macbook's hard drive to an external hard drive. I got a quote from them for $150, plus I would have to pay for a new external hard drive because my other one is full. In an effort to save money, I want to see if there is a cheaper way for me to backup the hard drive by myself. I have a pc laptop that still works fine, so I have been using that since my MacBook Pro died on me. Is there any way I could use that other computer to somehow backup my macbook's hard drive? Or would I need another mac to do the transfer? I have looked into buying a hard drive sled, but I don't know how those work, and I may not have all of the right equipment for it. If that is something I have the right tools for, and it's cheaper after buying all the accessories, then I would much rather go that route than taking it in to get serviced at an AASP store. Please help!

I'll give good ratings to those who give me useful advice.

Thanks,

Matt