Data Backup for Windows: How to Backup Computer to External Hard Drive Windows 10 and Windows 7

Losing data is the worst thing that can happen to a computer user. This can happen due to some computer problems, like virus attack, or can be due to the crashing of the drives. This will make you lose all your personal data, as well as the configuration you made to your computer. You will be able to get your computer back in the working condition, but you have to spend a lot of time customizing your laptop to your preference. 

It is better to back your personal data and your computer setting for if this kind mishap ever happens to you. In this article, I will be telling you about how to backup computer to external hard drive Windows 10 and how to backup computer to external hard drive windows 7.

How to Backup Computer to External Hard Drive Windows 7

Windows 7 was first introduced in the year 2009 on 22nd July. It was the successor to the previous Windows Vista. We saw many improvements in Windows 7, like the all-new “Start Menu”, the notification and the taskbar area, Windows Snipping Tool, Windows Explorer libraries, etc.  

The manual method of doing the backup is the easiest way to do this process. You can mark the files which you would like to do the back up for and at what interval of time. This process is to back up your data to an external hard drive or any other removable storage devices. 

1. First of all, you have to press the “Start” button, then click on the “Computer” option.
2. Within the computer option, you have to double-click on the drive on which you have installed your Windows 7.
3. After that, you have to open the folder named “Users”, and then select the files which you want to do the back up for.
4. Now, you have to copy these folders to the external hard drive or any other removable storage, on which you want to store the backup.

For doing the backup for all the files of the “User” folder, you have to follow steps 3 and 4. All the applications on your computer do not save their data on the “User” folder. You must determine their file location to do a complete backup of your system. So, this is the process of how to backup computer to external hard drive windows 7.  

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How to Backup Computer to External Hard Drive Windows 10

Windows 10 was introduced in the year 2015, on the 15th of July. It had many improvements from the previous Windows 8.1. It has a new Start Menu, the Microsoft Edge Web Browser, Universal apps, virtual desktops, and Cortana, which is a digital assistant for the windows. With the help of Cortana, you will be able to do may of the work by telling it to do so, like opening a particular file or playing music, etc.  

In Windows 10, there is a feature called image backup. This can be used to do a complete backup for the system. This backup will include the apps, settings, O.S, and all the personal files. The benefit of this process is that you will be able to do a full restoration of your system if some software or hardware failure occurs. But, there is a drawback also. You will not be able to bring back any individual files. 

You can do the backup by following the given steps:

1. In the search bar of your computer, you have to type “Control Panel”, and then hit enter.
2. Within the “Control Panel”, select the option of “System and Security.
3. After that, you have to go to the option “Save backup copies of your files with File History” and then click it.
4. Then, you have to click the option “System Image Backup”. It will be located at the left bottom corner of this page.
5. Next, you have to click the option “Create a system image”.
6. After that, select the hard drive and then press on “Next”.
7. Now, you have to press “Start backup” for starting the backup procedure.

This procedure can take 10 minutes to a few hours for completing the process. The time varies on the amount of data you are backing up. 

 Therefore, this is how to backup computer to external hard drive windows 10, and you will be able to do it very easily 

Conclusion

I hope that you understood how to backup computer to external hard drive windows 10 and windows 7 from the article. Backing up your data is very important for a crash of disk or some software problem can delete all your data. For most of the people, these data comprise of their works and many crucial informations related to their jobs. The lost of these data can affect them in a very bad way. Hence, it is always better to be prepared and do the backup for the data in advance.