How to Backup Computer to External Hard Drive

It’s essential to back up your computer’s data on an external hard drive (HD) to prevent any loss due to ransomware, disk error, accidental deletion, or any kind of physical damage. Having a backup will allow you to restore your data quickly. There are two types of backup: partial backup and system backup. With any of them, you can ensure that your data is always safe and easy to access.

Partial Backup:

You select the folders or files you wish to send a copy to the external hard drive.

System Backup:

It’s the copy of everything on the computer to the external hard drive. It backs up the Operating System (OS) settings, and any folder and files stored on the hard drive.

Important: A partial backup only guarantees you can recover the folders and files selected. Keep it updated to avoid losing recent data. Meanwhile, system backups demand larger storage space. 

Make sure you have the proper external hard disk for your backup. If you like, you can have more than one backup on different devices, including on Cloud services.

How to make a partial backup of your computer to an external hard drive

With your external HD plugged into your computer, you can type “backup” on the Windows search menu. On Windows 11, open File History. In Windows 10, select Backup settings.

Step 1: Choose among the connected drivers the external hard drive you want to back up your files to. 

Step 2: The “automatically back up my files” may be enabled by default. Under you can see “more options” bottom. Click on it.

Step 3: You can see the list of folders automatically selected for the backup. Add and remove the folders you wish for your partial backup.

The backup process will start and may take some time to finish, depending on how much data you are backing up. Once the backup is complete, you can safely disconnect your external hard drive from your computer.

If you wish to save only a few files, you can copy them individually to the hard drive.

Summary: A partial backup allows you to save only the most important folders and to update files that were already backup.

How to make a system backup of your computer to an external hard drive

A system backup will save an exact copy of your Windows installation, as well as all settings and data. This way, if you ever need to recover your computer, you can restore it to exactly the way it was when you created the backup. It guarantees full data recovery from your computer. You can create a backup of your entire system by creating a system image. 

To create a system image backup:

Step 1: Connect your external hard drive and head to the Backup and Restore tool in the Control Panel. 

Step 2: Select ‘Create a system image’ and follow the prompts to choose where to save your backup. 

Step 3: Start the backup. The process duration varies depending on the data transfer size.

Summary: A system backup assures you can always have your data, no matter what may happen to your computer.

By following these simple steps, you can ensure that your data is always safe and easy to access. Be sure to perform a backup regularly so that your data is always up-to-date.

And, if you face any problem with your backup or computer, SalvageData experts are ready to help you restore your files.