How to Backup a System to an External Hard Drive

by Sharon Harp

Windows Backup is a program built into the Windows operating system that lets you make backups of your computer and save them to an external hard drive. By performing this backup process on a regular basis, you can keep your data safe from potential damage due to computer malfunction or user error (such as accidentally deleting a file that you wanted to save).

1

Click "Start" then type "backup" in the search bar.

2

Press "Enter" to open the "Backup and Restore" window.

3

Click the "Set up backup" button.

4

Select the external hard drive to which you want to backup, click "Next" and select "Let Windows Decide."

5

Click "Next" two more times, then click "Save settings and backup" to perform the backup.

References

About the Author

Sharon Harp has worked as a campus newspaper journalist and a freelance writer since 2002. She currently writes for various websites. Harp holds a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing from the California Institute of Technology.

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