how much space do i need to allocate for super duper?

Hi,

I currently have a 200 gig hard drive and am planning to use super duper for the very first time. My question is will I have to allocate the exact same amount of hard drive space on my external (250 gig w/d passport) because I would prefer to save some hd space for other things.

Yes, SuperDuper does an exact carbon copy of your drive. So if you plan on backing up 200GB you need to allocate 200GB on your backup drive. I suggest you also partition the backup drive if you plan on using it for things other than the SuperDuper backup.