System Backup, HELP~!
 

I'm bringing my macbook pro in for service and I'm trying to back up my hard drive in case they decide to wipe it.

I've used SuperDuper to create a .sparseimage from my "Macintosh HD," which I'm storing on an external USB hard drive.

If my laptop comes back wiped how can I use this image to restore my system?

How come when I mount the .sparseimage and look through it, the applications folder is empty?

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.

First, you're better off backing up directly to the drive, rather than to a sparse image. But, with a sparse image, you can still restore -- see "Recovering from a disaster" in the User's Guide.

I don't know why the Applications folder would be empty if you did a "Backup - all files". It certainly shouldn't be!