How to Back Up Your Windows 10 Files to an External Hard Drive

PDF download Download Article
Plus, learn how to change your backup frequency
PDF download Download Article

This wikiHow teaches you how to save a copy of your Windows 10 computer files. You can do this by using Windows 10's File History program and an external hard drive or USB drive.

Easiest Way to Back Up Your Windows 10 Files

Plug an external hard drive into your computer, then open the Settings app and click "Update & security." Click "Backup", then "Add a drive" and select the external hard drive name from the list. Click "More options" and select "Back up now" to start loading files onto the external hard drive.

Steps

PDF download Download Article
  1. Plug the USB end of the external hard drive's cable into one of your computer's USB slots.
    • If you're using a flash drive, plug it directly into the USB slot.
  2. Open the Settings app . Click the Start
    Windows Start
    button at the bottom-left and select the settings gear
    Windows Settings
    . [1]
    • You can also press the ⊞ Win + I keys at the same time.
    Advertisement
  3. It's a symbol of two circling arrows. You'll likely find this near the bottom of the Settings window.
  4. This tab is on the left side of the settings app.
  5. It's a grey button at the top of the Backup page. Doing so will scan your computer for a removable drive—in this case, your external hard drive or flash drive. [2]
  6. Click your external drive's name in the Add a Drive drop-down menu. This will set it as your backup drive.
  7. It's right below the "Add a drive" section. Doing so will open a page with your backup options.
  8. It's a grey button at the top of the page. This will prompt Windows 10 to begin backing up your files to your attached drive. [3]
    • You can see how much space a backup will take next to the "Size of backup" heading near the top of the page. If your drive's free space is less than this number, delete some files from your drive before continuing.
  9. Click the drop-down box below the "Back up my files" heading, then select an option in the drop-down menu.
    • For the least amount of disturbance, select Daily in the drop-down menu.
  10. Click the "Keep my backups" drop-down box, then select a timeframe in the drop-down menu.
    • You can select Until space is needed to automatically override old backups with new ones.
  11. It's in the top-left corner of the Backup window. Your files will continue to back up to your drive.
    • If you ever need to restore a backup, you can begin by opening the "More options" link from the Backup page, scrolling all the way down, and clicking "Restore files from a current backup".
    12. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    How can I back up files from an external file to another external file?
    Leet
    Community Answer
    You can copy and paste files to multiple locations in Windows 10. Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V are helpful keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 18 Helpful 8
  • Question
    Will this back up all files on my hard disk (including application files) such that I can fully restore my system if I need to (Mac Time Machine style)?
    Community Answer
    Yes, it's possible. If you are going to restore your computer, there are some options for backup. Just click on ''Restore/back up'' and choose back up the file, then follow instructions. It will create your backup. You can easily restore your computer and your data will remain saved.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 7 Helpful 7
  • Question
    What if there is no "Add a drive" button?
    Community Answer
    Check very closely, the button is always there. But if it's not there, try restarting it or contacting the developers.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 7 Helpful 6
See more answers
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

      Warnings

      • Do not unplug your external drive or turn off the computer while backing up—you'll lose your backup progress and there's a high chance of corrupting the data on the external drive.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      • Backups generally take up a lot of space, especially if you don't delete old backups.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Change the Screen Brightness in Windows 10: A Quick Guide
      Turn Off Microsoft Defender in Windows 10: Temporarily or Permanently
      How to
      Recover Permanently Deleted Files in Windows 10
      How to
      Show Image Previews in Windows 10 & 11
      A Guide to Checking if Your Firewall Is Blocking Something
      How to
      Install Windows 10
      How to
      Use Function Keys Without Pressing Fn on Windows 10
      4 Easy Ways to Turn Off Automatic Updates in Windows 10
      How to
      Completely Uninstall the Riot Games Client & Vanguard
      How to
      Set Video As Wallpaper in Windows 10
      How to
      Adjust Brightness on Windows 10 Using the Keyboard
      Easy Ways to Open Task Scheduler in Windows 10 & 11: Run, CMD, and More
      How to
      Screenshot in Windows 10
      How to
      Test Your Laptop’s Battery Health in Windows 10
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-your-windows-pc-87a81f8a-78fa-456e-b521-ac0560e32338
      2. ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/transfer-your-data-with-windows-backup?r=1
      3. ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/transfer-your-data-with-windows-backup?r=1

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Connect your external hard drive or USB drive to your computer.
      2. Open Start
      3. Click the settings gear.
      4. Click Update & security
      5. Click Backup
      6. Click + Add a drive
      7. Select your drive, then click More options
      8. Click Back up now

      Did this summary help you?
      In other languages
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 115,955 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement