Can I backup a specific folder to OneDrive?

Yes, of course, you can use OneDrive to backup specific folders! OneDrive, released by Microsoft, is a robust but simple-to-use cloud storage platform for personal and business use. It is a part of the Microsoft 365 productivity suite and comes preinstalled on Windows 10/11 PCs. You are allowed to backup computer files to the OneDrive cloud and synchronize OneDrive folders and files to your local system.

Though you can make OneDrive backup selected folders through the OneDrive website and the OneDrive folder on your PC, it requires you to manually upload the desired folders to OneDrive. That is to say, every time you add, modify, or delete items, you need to back them up to OneDrive again in case they are lost. But don’t worry, we are here to help you backup specific folder to OneDrive automatically.

How to let OneDrive backup specific folders automatically in 2 Ways

There are two ways to back up specific folders to OneDrive. One is using the OneDrive client, and the other is relying on a third-party backup tool. Let's dive in now!

Way 1. Backup specific folders to OneDrive using OneDrive desktop app

How to backup specific folder in OneDrive? With the OneDrive desktop app, you can quickly access content from the cloud in your File Explorer, and auto backup important PC folders (Desktop, Documents, and Pictures) to the OneDrive cloud.

Besides, it allows you to set OneDrive files on demand, which gives you access to files in OneDrive without having to download them locally, helping you free up space on the local hard drive. Then, learn the detailed steps on how to backup specific folders to OneDrive below.

Step 1. Download the OneDrive desktop app. If you are running on Windows 10/11, search for “OneDrive” in the Windows search box to launch it directly. Then log in with your Microsoft credential.

Step 2. Right-click the OneDrive icon on the taskbar, click the gear button (Help & Settings), and select Settings.

Step 3. Go to the Backup section, and then click Manage Backup.

Step 4. In the Back up your folders dialog, choose the folders that you want to back up to OneDrive, then tap on Start Backup to make OneDrive backup specific folders.

As you can see, with OneDrive PC folder backup, you can only get OneDrive backup folder on C drive among the Desktop, Documents, or Pictures folders. If you want to backup folders from other locations, or backup all folders and files from PC to OneDrive, using a file backup tool is the best solution.

Way 2. Better free way to auo backup specific folders to OneDrive

How to backup any folder to OneDrive, instead of certain PC folders? CBackup is one of the best cloud backup and sync services that make OneDrive automatic backup any folders on computer easily. With CBackup, you can sync any folder or file to OneDrive for free, and it supports you to backup entire computer to OneDrive.

This tool lets you upload folders and files to OneDrive at the time you specified. For example, you can set up to backup Downloads folder to OneDrive every 8:00 pm. After setup, it will automatically back up selected data to OneDrive even if you are not powered on or even running the program.

Next, let's have a look at how to get OneDrive backup folder from another drive, instead of just the system folders.

Step 1. Click the download button to get this tool. Create a CBackup account for free and sign in to its desktop app.

Step 2. Tap on the Storage tab, click OneDrive, and hit Authorize Now, and authorize CBackup to access your OneDrive storage space.

Step 3. Click Backup PC to Public Cloud under the Backup tab to create a PC to cloud backup task.

Notes:✎...

You can choose Sync > Sync PC to Public Cloud to upload computer files and folders to cloud as well. The difference between backup and sync is that backup creates image files for selected folders, allows you to keep unlimited versions, and can be restored. While sync copies those files to another place, with only one version, and not available for restoration.

Step 4. Select the files and folders that you need to backup to OneDrive, and pick OneDrive as your backup destination path.

Step 5. Click the Settings button in the lower left corner, enable Scheduler, and you could set data backup on a one-time only, daily, weekly, or monthly regular basis as you prefer to perform OneDrive automatic backup specific folder.

Step 6. Click Start Backup to add specific folders to OneDrive backup with ease.

In addition to getting OneDrive backup folders, you can also try other exclusive features of CBackup:

• Backup/sync data to Google Drive, Dropbox, and other public clouds.
• Back up computer data to CBackup Cloud, offering 10GB of free space and scalable backup storage plans at affordable prices.
• Migrate data from one cloud to another, like transferring files from one OneDrive account to another, and transfer data between clouds hassle-free.

How to increase OneDrive storage for free

If you run out of OneDrive storage space while saving your computer data, you can run CBackup to merge multiple OneDrive accounts and increase OneDrive storage at no cost. Here is what to do:

Step 1. Run the CBackup program and sign in.

Step 2. Click Add Cloud on the top of the Storage screen to connect all your OneDrive accounts to CBackup.

Step 3. Tap on the Add Combined Cloud option.

Step 4. Tick all cloud storage accounts that you wish to combine. Click Next, determine the order to save backup files, then press Combine.

Summary

With the OneDrive desktop app, you can only get OneDrive backup specific folders on computer like Desktop, Documents, and Pictures. If you want to let OneDrive backup folders from other locations, you’d better make use of third-party backup and sync software - CBackup.

It can not only backup and sync data to OneDrive but also allows you to customize sync frequency as you like. Apart from that, you can also use it to backup external hard drive to OneDrive, and other mainstream cloud drives freely and easily.