How do I backup my Dell to an external hard drive?
I have to admit that I do not carry out regular backups, simply because I cannot find any information on how to do it, to back up. In an attempt to put things right, I have bought a 500GB of external hard drive, and I just want to backup my Dell computer to it, how do I do it?
- Question from dell.com/community
To protect data on Dell computers, users often choose an external hard drive as a backup location. In the dell community, many questions like how to backup Dell computer to external hard drive, how to backup dell laptop to external hard drive in Windows 10 were asked. There are some different ways to solve such problems, please keep reading to learn the detailed steps.
4 ways to backup Dell computer to external hard drive
If you want to know how to backup Dell computer in Windows 10 or other Windows systems, these 4 methods may be useful for you.
Way 1. Use Windows Backup and Restore
You can use Windows built-in Backup and Restore tool to backup your Dell computer to external hard drive. Here are the simple steps:
1. Connect your external hard drive to your Dell computer first.
2. Launch Backup and Restore, click on Set up backup. Choose your external hard drive and click Next.

3. In this pop-up window, choose the Let me choose option.

4. Then, you can select data, disk, folders on your Dell computer to back up. Then click Next.

Way 2. Use File History
If you want to know how to take backup of Windows 10 in Dell laptop, File History is also a choice for you. It is a Windows built-in tool, which can also help you backup Dell computer to external hard drive. Just follow these easy steps:
1. Connect your external hard drive to your Dell computer.
2. Open File History. Click Add a drive, then select the connected external hard drive.

3. To configure more settings about backup, you can click the Backup tab > More options.

4. After configuring, select Back up now to start the backup.
Way 3. Use free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard
Another easy-to-use way is to use free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard, which can help you back up Dell computer to external hard drive automatically. Here is a step-by-step guideline to use it:
1. Connect your external hard drive to your Dell computer. Download AOMEI Backupper Standard on your computer.
2. Click on the Disk Backup option.

3. Next, you can select Add Disk to choose disk on your Dell computer to backup.

4. Then click the folder icon to choose your external hard drive as the backup location.

5. (Optional) To set up an auto backup, you can go to the Schedule Settings to configure scheduled backup.

6. Finally, click the Start Backup button to backup the disk from Dell computer to external hard drive.
Way 4. Use Dell Backup and Recovery
Dell also provides a backup application called Dell Backup and Recovery. To backup Dell computer to external hard drive, just follow these simple steps:
1. Connect your external hard drive to your Dell computer. Launch Dell Backup and Recovery.
2. Click Backup in this window.

3. Next, you can choose your external hard drive as the backup location to backup your Dell computer. You can also configure the backup time and frequency. After that, click Continue.

External hard drive vs. cloud storage
External hard drives and cloud storage are two of the most popular ways of backup. They both have the function of backup and protecting data. For this, users may also want to know some information about external hard drives or cloud storage. Here we have provided you with a detailed table where you can learn the advantages and disadvantages of these two backup methods from different aspects and then make your choice.

If you want to know how to backup Dell laptop to external hard drive, the next 4 ways should help you. If you want to try cloud storage to back up your Dell computer, we've also introduced you a practical cloud backup method as below.
Another choice: backup your Dell computer to Cloud
As we compare external hard drive and cloud storage, cloud storage also has its obvious advantages. Thus, you can backup your Dell computer to the cloud as another choice to protect your data on the computer.
Here we provide a free cloud backup choice for you - CBackup, which can help you back up your computer to public clouds directly like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive.
Most cloud storage just provides a small free cloud storage space for each account. If you need more cloud storage, CBackup can provide you with unlimited cloud backup via its combined cloud storage feature. You can merge as many cloud drive accounts as you have into one combined cloud to enjoy free cloud storage space.
Besides, CBackup also offers a restore feature. It will be easy to restore your data if your computer is attacked, which will not cost you too much time.
Before you set up a backup for Dell computer to the cloud, you need to make sure that your cloud storage is enough. After that, let’s see how to backup your Dell computer to the cloud via CBackup:
⇒ How to add cloud drive accounts to CBackup
1. Download and install the CBackup desktop app on your Dell computer. Sign up for a new CBackup account, then run the client to log into it.

2. Then, select the My Storage tab, and then select the + Add Cloud button.

3. For example, select Google Drive > Add, please follow the instructions to grant CBackup access to your Google Drive.

⇒ How to backup data from your Dell computer to cloud
1. In the Backup Tasks tab, click the New Task button.

2. Select the Local Files option to pick the local files on your Dell computer.

3. You can type in Task Name to name the backup task, then click the Add Source button to add your entire Dell computer, then click OK.


4. Click on Add Destination > Single Cloud, and select the Google Drive account you added, then click OK.

5. After the above, click the Start Backup button to backup your Dell computer to the cloud.

♦ Note: When you set up a backup task, you can go to the Backup Settings to use the Scheduler feature, which will help your backup tasks run regularly and automatically, saving much time and effort for you.

Final words
That’s all about how to backup Dell computer to external hard drive. There are 4 different ways to do it. In addition, we also provide another method to back up your computer - cloud storage. To set up a backup from PC to cloud, you can try the best free cloud backup software - CBackup. It will help you automatically back up Dell computer to the cloud for free.