The craziest thing you can do with any device is decide not to back it up. Windows 10 is the latest operating system from Microsoft. It comes with a Start Menu and all sorts of under-hood changes designed to make life easier. Microsoft’s hope is that the Keep My Files setting in the Recovery menu and integrated support for OneDrive mean you’ll never have to waste time manually connecting your hard drive and backing up every single file on your device. It all depends on how comfortable you are with cloud storage services in general.
Windows 10 has options for those who want to backup locally or simply want to store files on someone else’s servers and access them again when and where they need it.
Here’s how to back up files on your laptop, tablet, or desktop running Windows 10 to a hard drive, flash drive.
How to Backup Files in Windows 10 – Before You Begin
Before you begin, you will need the appropriate materials. It’s better to collect them now rather than wait until you start the installation process.
If you plan to back up your files to external hard drives, your journey begins with finding a hard drive that fits your needs. Don’t go out and buy the cheapest hard drive you can find. Start by looking at the This PC space on your device and determining how much storage you have on your machine. In an ideal case, you want it on your device as well as on your external hard drive. In fact, it’s a better idea to get a little more storage than your computer has, as you’ll continue to add files over time. If you want a USB 3.0 hard drive for faster transfers but don’t mind backups taking longer, a USB 2.0 hard drive is acceptable. Amazon has a great line of portal hard drives. Western Digital.
Those who plan to use Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage service to store their files also have some preparatory work to do. OneDrive is free for the first 15GB of storage. After that, you need to buy more storage to connect to your account. go to Microsoft OneDrive Site to get a breakdown of how much storage you have and to buy more. In theory, the same logic that applies to hard drive storage also applies to OneDrive. You want enough storage to cover the files you have now and more files in the future.
How to Backup Files in Windows 10 – File Backups
Go to the app on your Windows 10 PC. Touch users should swipe left from the right side of their device to open the Action Center and select Settings from there.
Mouse and keyboard users should open the Start Menu by clicking the Windows button on the Taskbar and selecting Settings from the lower left corner.
Once the Settings app now opens, tap or click its icon.
Select it from the list of options in the menu on the left of your screen. Third option from above.
Welcome to the backup area. Windows 10 uses a feature called File History to save multiple versions of your files. A version lives on your device. The other stays on your external hard drive and waits for you to restore it if you need it. Think of it as an insurance plan for your files.
Plug in the external drive you purchased to back up your files. Don’t worry about installing any additional software, as Windows 10 already knows how to communicate with external hard drives without any additional software.
Tap or click the side icon to start backing up your files. Select the external drive you just connected and decide which files you want to back up. File History can store photos, videos, contacts, documents. Really, it will back up everything that matters to you. Note that the hard drive must be connected for File History to continue working.
How to Backup Files in Windows 10 – OneDrive
Backing up to OneDrive isn’t as easy as making copies of your files with File History. Part of that, for example, is that there’s no extra software to install, and Windows 10 takes care of the installation for you. The problem is, OneDrive in Windows 10 is making some big strides.
You need to drop everything you want to back up in your OneDrive folder. What’s more, OneDrive folders can no longer be stored on an SD card or drive before backing up to the web. Finally, Microsoft removed the small placeholder files from Windows 8.1 that allow users to see what they have stored in OneDrive.
Click or tap the button in your Taskbar.
Tap or click the button.
Choose from the menu.
Choose which folders you want to sync with your OneDrive. Tap or click and you’re ready to go. Everything synced to the OneDrive folder stored on your PC is automatically synced and can be accessed at: OneDrive.com. Just drag the files there when you want to backup or set your default save location for your programs for all kinds of files there to get automatic backup. Note that if you delete a file from your OneDrive folder, it will go to the Recycle Bin online in OneDrive. OneDrive also has companion apps for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone.
Good luck with Windows 10 and your backups. Remember, Backups created by these methods do not mean you are fully protected. For example, Windows itself and your programs are not part of these backups.
