How to Back Up Your Files in Windows 10

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher.

The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work.

This article has been viewed 110,311 times.

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.

If you're using a flash drive, plug it directly into the USB slot.

Open the Settings. " width="460" height="344" />

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Open the Settings app. Click the Start

Windows Start

button at the bottom-left and select the settings gear

Windows Settings

You can also press the ⊞ Win + I keys at the same time.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Public Domain
\n">

Update & security . It's a symbol of two circling arrows. You'll likely find this near the bottom of the Settings window.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click Backup . This tab is on the left side of the settings app.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Click Add a drive . 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.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Select your drive. Click your external drive's name in the Add a Drive drop-down menu. This will set it as your backup drive.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Click the "More options" link. It's right below the "Add a drive" section. Doing so will open a page with your backup options.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

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.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

For the least amount of disturbance, select Daily in the drop-down menu.

Step 10 Change how long the backup stays on your drive." width="460" height="346" />

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

You can select Until space is needed to automatically override old backups with new ones.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

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".

Community Q&A

How can I back up files from an external file to another external file? 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

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.

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.

Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Advertisement

Tips

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

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.

Backups generally take up a lot of space, especially if you don't delete old backups. Advertisement