I'm told my 2007 Dell Dimenssion hard drive is going bad and backing it up to external drive will kill it. Do I have options?

Solution
If it is dying, the more you mess with it, the sooner it will fail.
The only thing you really need off it is your personal, critical data. Anything else can be replaced easily.

Copy that critical stuff elsewhere.
Thanks. If I use a "thumb drive" for the files I want, that might work? I'll start with the most important ones. Can a normal person check to see if their hard drive is sick?

Sorry, this was supposed to go to FAFT65, I think, or USAFRet?. I keep pushing the wrong buttons, filling in the wrong boxes, and am trying to get used to my new laptop(not desktop), with Windows 8 (not Windows XP},
 


A thumb drive? Well, yes, if it is large enough.
Then you'll need a new hard drive, and an OS install of whatever operating system you want.
 
After you get your critical data backed up, install and run Belarc Advisor, then save the results to the same backup drive (the log is saved as a HTML file, so look for the file, and the folder that goes with it). It will list all of your installed software and licenses/software keys to make reinstallation easier. When you have done that, and you are prepared for your drive to fail and ready to buy a new drive, Google Hiren's CD, download and burn it to a CD. It has lots of tools to help. Boot the PC from the CD, run the DOS programs, and use the Hard Disk tools. There are tools to test your Hard Drive and attempt to recover bad sectors. You can try that before you buy a new drive, but it is a rare drive that comes back to life with full health. Also, there are Tools to copy all of your info to a new drive, you can try that before you erase what you have, it would be easier than a complete reinstall.