How to Automatically Backup Files to An External Hard Drive in 3 Ways

What is the best strategy to retain data from a severe system crash, hardware failure, or virus attack? Creating a backup of your computer data is the best way out. Usually, an external hard drive is recommended to save the backup.

Here, we collected 3 backup tools to protect your files from various disasters effectively:

#Tool 1. Windows Backup Software - Easiest
#Tool 2. Windows Backup and Restore
#Tool 3. Windows File History

Here, you may pick up backup software as your first choice to protect your data with ease. It's reliable and easy.

Which to Choose? Qiling Backup, Backup and Restore, File History

Some of you may have the same question here, which backup tool should I choose? Qiling Disk Master, Windows Backup and Restore, or File History? Based on the above-provided information, here, we listed a brief comparison table to help you decide which tool suits you the most:

QiLing Disk Master	Windows Backup and Restore	File History
Back up files, folders, hard drive partition, and OS.	Back up files, folders, hard drive partition, and OS.	Back up files and folders under C:/ user folder.
Support Windows 10/8/7, Windows XP and Vista	Support Windows 10/7	Support Windows 8/10
Easy	Complex	Complex

Basically, if you are a Windows beginner or prefer an easy way to create an automatic backup plan of your files to an external hard drive, Qiling Disk Master worths a try.

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How to Automatically Backup Files to External Hard Drive - 3 Tools

How do I automatically back up files to an external hard drive in Windows 10, 8, or 7? Follow the respective tool recommendation and tutorial guidelines, you'll fully back up your computer data with ease.

#Tool 1. Use Windows Backup Software

To automatically back up computer data to an external hard drive with ease, you can pick up a reliable Windows backup software for help. Third-party Windows backup software - Qiling Disk Master can help.

Pros: Multiple file backup features, fast and small image size, and portable.

Cons: Not 100% free.

What you can back up with Qiling Disk Master software:

Back up hard drive partition to internal or external HDD/SSD, cloud drive.
Back up specific files to internal or external HDD/SSD, cloud drive.
Back up Windows OS to internal or external HDD/SSD, cloud drive.

Qiling Disk Master software enables all Windows users to back up their files to the desired device with ease. It offers two options to help you automatically backup files to an external hard drive:

#Option 1. Automatically Backup Files to External Hard Drive by Daily, Weekly, or Monthly

Preparations:

Connect your external hard drive to your computer.
Download Qiling Disk Master.

Step 1. Launch Qiling Disk Master software and choose the File backup option on the main window.

Step 2. Select the files or folders you want to backup. Then click "Destination" to select the external hard drive as the backup storage location.

You can also enter "Plan name" and "Description" for specifying your file backup.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Click "Filter" if you want to specify certain types of files to backup. Here, multiple types of files including Documents Files, E-mail, Financial Files, Music Files, Picture Files, and Video Files, etc can be selected.

Do not forget the advanced backup plans in "Options", where you can compress the backup image, encrypt the backup for privacy protection and even enable a sector by sector backup.

Step 3. Click the "Schedule" option to open the Backup Scheme window, here you can create a scheduled backup plan to backup files later, daily, weekly, monthly or upon event.

The schedule is to create an automatic backup plan. It is not a prerequisite for backup.

And the "Advanced > Enable image reserve strategy" lets you manage the increasingly growing backup images economically, you can preserve the backups in a setup time or quantity.

Step 4. Click "Proceed" to back up folders or files to the external hard drive.

#Option 2. Automatically Back Up Files to External Hard Drive When Plugged In

This smart backup program also offers a unique feature that enables you to automatically backup to USB drive when plugged in.

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You can also do this to your external hard drive:

Preparations:

Connect your USB to your computer
Download Qiling Disk Master.

Step 1. Launch Qiling Disk Master software and choose "File backup" on the window to make USB auto copy files when plugged in.

Step 2. Decide a backup image location to save your files. Be aware of the "Schedule" part, and go to start a scheduled backup plan by setting "Upon event".

he backup is to be automatically executed in the event of:

System startup - Backup runs automatically when the system starts up.
System shutdown - Backup runs automatically when the system is shut down.
User logon - Backup runs automatically when Windows logs in.
User logoff - Backup runs automatically when Windows logs off.
USB device plugged in - Backup runs automatically when the USB device is plugged in provided that it is set to be the destination.

Step 3. Choose start at "USB device plugged in..." and click "OK". Note the warning message, the automatic backup or copying will only happen to the exact device on which you created the task.

Step 4. After saving all changes, re-plug or reconnect your USB drive. Then when your computer recognizes the USB drive, the automatic copying and backup process starts.

Note: every new automatic backup plan requires the backup image saved at the last time, or else the backup software won't work as planned even it detects the same USB device.

Once the auto savings get done, each time you connected the backup drive to your computer and launch Qiling Disk Master, it will automatically run backup according to the schedule you set. In addition, you can change the previous settings at any time.

#Tool 2. Use Windows Backup and Restore

Windows Backup and Restore (Windows 7) program is a native tool for users to back up or restore files as necessary. With it, you can manually set up the backup plan to create file backups, including a system image to an external hard drive based on a fixed time interval.

Pros: Free, fast, and portable.

Cons: Huge image size, nearly the same as the source files.

See what you can backup with Windows Backup & Restore:

Back up files to an internal or external hard drive.
Back up partition to an internal or external hard drive.
Back up Windows system to internal or external HDD/SSD.

Tutorial: How to Set Up Automatic Backup Plan to Back Up Files to External Hard Drive

Note that this operation requires you to keep your external hard drive connected to your computer all the time, as a result, which might put your backup image in danger. The backup can be vulnerable to be deleted or infected by viruses and false operations.

Step 1. Connect the external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2. Go to Settings > System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 3. Click "Change settings", select the external hard drive ("Removable Disk") to save a backup, and click "Next".

Step 4. Then click "Let me choose" and "Next" to specify files that you need to back up. Click "Next".

Step 5. Click "Change schedule", set to run backup on a schedule by daily, weekly, or monthly, and click "OK".

Step 6. Click "Set settings and run backup".

Wait patiently to let Windows Backup and Restore to complete the process.

#Tool 3. Use Windows File History

Like Windows Backup and Restore, Windows File History is another built-in tool that allows you to create an automatic backup plan of specific files on computers.

Pros: Free, and fast.

Cons: Huge image size, can't back up non-system drive files.

See what you can backup with Windows File History:

Back up Desktop files.
Back up Documents, Pictures, Music, Downloads.
Back up Once Drive in the user account.

Tutorial: How to Automatically Back Up Files to Your External Hard Drive via File History

You need also always keep your external hard drive connected to the PC all the time so as to allow File History to back up computer data to your drive automatically.

Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to PC.

Step 2. Open Control Panel, select "File History".

Step 3. Click "Select drive" on the File History window.

Step 4. Select your external hard drive "Removable disk" and click "OK" to continue.

Step 5. Click "Advanced Settings", you can set how often to save copies of your files by minutes, hours, or daily.

Step 6. Click "Run now".

File History will automatically back up all folders under C:/Users/account name to your external hard drive.

It's Your Turn. Take Steps to Automatically Back Up Your Files Now

On this page, we showed you the best strategy for protecting your personal data on Windows PC. To protect your computer data in Windows 10/8/7, it is smart to automatically backup files to an external hard hard drive.

And we collected 3 tools to help you out. Among these tools, Qiling Disk Master with its schedule backup feature seems to be the easiest and most efficient solution. No matter which tool you decide to use, take action to back up your valuable files now.