Tech News Today
  • Hardware
    • Motherboards
    • CPUs
    • Graphic Cards
    • RAM
    • SSDs
    • Computer Cases
    • Monitors
    • Peripherals
    • Power Supply Unit
    • PC Builds
    • Computer Tips
  • Software
  • Operating System
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
  • Gaming
  • Mobile
  • Console
  • More
    • Internet
    • Networking
    • Security
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Gadgets
    • Laptops
    • Reviews
    • How To
    • News
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Tech News Today
  • Hardware
    • Motherboards
    • CPUs
    • Graphic Cards
    • RAM
    • SSDs
    • Computer Cases
    • Monitors
    • Peripherals
    • Power Supply Unit
    • PC Builds
    • Computer Tips
  • Software
  • Operating System
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
  • Gaming
  • Mobile
  • Console
  • More
    • Internet
    • Networking
    • Security
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Gadgets
    • Laptops
    • Reviews
    • How To
    • News
Tech News Today
Home»Windows»How To Backup Windows 11 To External Drive

How To Backup Windows 11 To External Drive

Anup ThapaBy Anup ThapaDecember 18, 2022
windows 11 backup to external drive

Most users backup their data as standard practice these days. Unfortunately, a large portion of such backups is stored locally on the same drive, which is an issue that really deserves more attention.

If you actually want to cover all bases when it comes to backing up your data, we recommend saving the backups to an external drive and, ideally, a third copy on the cloud as well.

If you only need to backup certain files, you could simply copy and paste them to the external drive. But when backing up large amounts of files or the entire system, this wouldn’t be very efficient. As such, we’ve listed better ways to backup Windows 11 using various utilities.

Table of Contents

  • Backup and Restore
  • System Image
  • Command Line (wbadmin)
  • File History
  • Cloning
  • OneDrive Backups

Backup and Restore

Backup and Restore is a legacy feature used to create file, folder, and system image backups. Here are the steps to backup Windows 11 using this tool:

  1. Press Win + R, type control, and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
  3. Press Set up backup.
  4. Select the destination drive to save the backup on and press Next.
    set-up-backup-select-drive
  5. Choose the appropriate option depending on whether you want the backup’s contents to be selected manually or automatically.
    let-windows-choose-backup
  6. Click on Change Schedule. Enable the Run backup on a schedule option to set up automatic backups. Set the frequency and press OK.
    run-backup-on-a-schedule
  7. Click on Save settings and run backup.
  8. At a later point, you can restore your files if required using the Select another backup to restore files from option.
    backup and restore

System Image

The Backup and Restore utility can be used to create a system image as well, but you can also create one directly without going through the roundabout process. Here are the steps to do so:

  1. Navigate to the Backup and Restore page once again.
  2. Click on Create a system image from the left pane.
  3. Select the drive to store the backup on.
    system-image-location
  4. The system partitions are selected by default when creating a system image, but you can also include additional partitions if you wish.
    backups-items
  5. Review the settings on the next screen and press Start backup.
    confirm-your-backup-settings

If you ever need to use the system image to restore your PC, you can follow the steps listed below:

  1. Connect the backup drive to your PC.
  2. Hold Shift and restart your PC, or restart it 3 times in a row to boot into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
  3. In WinRE, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > See more recovery options > System Image Recovery.
    System Recovery using System Image
  4. After rebooting, input your account credentials to continue.
  5. Click on Select a system image and press Next.
    select-a-system-image-backup
  6. Pick the appropriate system image to use and press Next.
  7. Review the image details one more time and press Finish to proceed with the restoration.

Command Line (wbadmin)

Although it’s not commonly used, the Backup and Restore also has a command-line version called wbadmin. Just like the GUI version, you can use this tool to create backups, set up schedules, and restore files from the backup. Here are the steps to do so:

  1. Press Win + R, type cmd, and press CTRL + Shift + Enter.
  2. To back up the system drive, type the following command:
    wbadmin start backup -backupTarget:G: -include:C: -allCritical –quiet
    wbadmin-start-backup
  3. Replace G: with the destination drive letter and C: with the system drive letter if different, then press Enter.
  4. To backup multiple partitions, copy the following command:
    wbadmin start backup -backupTarget:G: -include:C:,D:,E:,F: -allCritical –quiet
    wbadmin-start-backup-backuptarget-include-allcritical-quiet
  5. Once again, replace G: with the destination drive letter. Replace C:,D:,E:,F: with the drive letters of the partitions you want to backup, remove or add more as appropriate, and press Enter.
Wbadmin has a bunch of useful options, such as enable backup to set up a backup schedule or start recovery to run a recovery operation based on the specified parameters. As there are too many to cover in detail here, we recommend referring to the wbadmin documentation for the full list.

File History

Windows also has a feature called File History that regularly backups user files, i.e., files stored on the Desktop and in the Documents, Pictures, Videos, and Music folders. If you’re trying to back up the contents of these folders, you can use File History with the following steps:

  1. Press Win + R, type control, and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to System and Security > File History.
  3. Click on Select a drive and pick the external drive to back up the files to. Then toggle ON File History.
    select-a-file-history-drive
  4. You can use the Select drive option again to pick a different drive to store the backups on. Similarly, you can use Exclude folders to exclude any folders from being backed up.
  5. You can set the backup frequency and how long to store old copies for via Advanced Settings.
    file-history-restore-personal-files-select-drive-exclude-folders
  6. Finally, you can use the Restore personal files option to restore files using File History.

Cloning

Some users like to use cloning tools to back up the entire drive to an external backup drive on a regular schedule. This method is a bit unorthodox, but it certainly works. If you’re interested in doing the same, we have a detailed article on cloning HDDs and SSDs.

OneDrive Backups

Finally, this one is technically not an external drive, but as we’ve stated earlier, it’s a good practice to back up your files to both an external drive and a cloud service. As such, we recommend you do the same. We have a guide on backing up your computer to OneDrive if you’re interested.

how-to
Anup Thapa
  • LinkedIn

Anup Thapa is a tech writer at TechNewsToday. He mostly writes informative articles, tutorials, and troubleshooting guides related to Windows systems, networking, and computer hardware. Anup has been writing professionally for almost 5 years, and tinkering with PCs for much longer. His love for all things tech started when he got his first PC over 15 years ago. It was a Pentium IV system running Windows XP on a single 256 MB stick. He spent his formative years glued to this PC, troubleshooting any hardware or software problems he encountered by himself. Professionally, Anup has had brief forays into a variety of fields like coding, hardware installation, writing, etc. In doing so, he's worked with people of different backgrounds and skill levels, from average joes to industry leaders and experts. This has given him not just a versatile skillset, but also a unique perspective for writing that enables him to concisely communicate complex information and solve his reader's problems efficiently. You can contact him at anup@technewstoday.com

Related Posts

amd-software-not-opening

How to Fix AMD Software Not Opening

March 3, 2023
how to create a folder

7 Ways to Create a Folder on Windows

March 3, 2023
turn off automatic updates windows

How to Turn Off Automatic Updates on Windows

March 2, 2023
Memory-Compression

What is Memory Compression in Windows? Should You Enable or Disable It

March 1, 2023
dism-vs-sfc-vs-chdsk

DISM, SFC, CHKDSK: What’s the Difference

February 28, 2023
how-to-open-exe-file

4 Ways to Open EXE File

March 2, 2023
View 5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Mo on September 24, 2022 10:59 pm

    very useful and detailed, well-done thanks.

    Reply
    • Anup on September 25, 2022 8:33 am

      We’re glad to hear this article was helpful, Mo!

      Reply
  2. Rob on January 11, 2023 12:12 am

    Can’t find Back up and restore or “System and Security” in Windows 11. Windows back up in Accounts does not give option for external HD.

    Reply
  3. Rob on January 11, 2023 12:18 am

    Apologies – Must view Category in Control Panel, not Large Icons

    Reply
    • Anup on January 11, 2023 10:18 am

      Apologies from our end as well! We should’ve specified that to start with.

      Reply

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Latest Posts
Memory-Compression

What is Memory Compression in Windows? Should You Enable or Disable It

March 1, 2023
dism-vs-sfc-vs-chdsk

DISM, SFC, CHKDSK: What’s the Difference

February 28, 2023
bios-settings-for-gaming

Best BIOS Settings for Gaming

February 16, 2023
You may also like
how-to-clean-hp-printer-rollers

How to Clean HP Printer Rollers

March 3, 2023
keyboard input lag

9 Ways to Fix Keyboard Input Lag

March 3, 2023
keyboard key is stuck

How to Fix a Stuck Key on a Keyboard

March 3, 2023
Recommended
Cookie Clicker Garden Guide

Cookie Clicker Garden Guide to Unlocking Every Seed

September 26, 2021
monitor no signal

Computer Turns On But Monitor Says No Signal (9 Ways To Fix)

November 10, 2022
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
© 2023 TechNewsToday, editor@technewstoday.com | Tech Central Pvt. Ltd.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.