To backup directly to an external hard drive, you have a few options depending on your operating system. I’ll provide instructions for both Windows 11 and Windows 10.
For Windows 11:
1. Go to the Start menu and search for “File History” and open it. If you don’t see it, you can also find it in the Settings app under “System” and then “Storage”.
2. In the File History settings, click on “Backup settings”.
3. Under the “Back up to a different drive” section, click on “Add a drive”.
4. Select your external hard drive from the list of available drives.
5. Once the drive is added, you can customize your backup settings, such as how often to back up and which folders to include. Click on “More options” to access these settings.
6. Ensure that the toggle switch for File History is turned on to enable automatic backups.
For Windows 10:
1. Open the Control Panel, which you can access by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting it from the menu.
2. In the Control Panel, search for “Backup and Restore” and open it.
3. In the Backup and Restore window, click on “Create a system image” on the left-hand side.
4. Choose the external hard drive as the destination for the backup by clicking on “On a hard disk” and selecting your drive.
5. Select any additional drives or partitions you want to include in the backup.
6. Review the backup settings and click on “Start backup” to begin the process. This may take some time depending on the size of your system.
It’s important to note that the instructions provided are for backing up your files and system settings. If you’re looking to backup specific folders or files, you can also manually copy and paste them to your external hard drive.
Remember to regularly connect your external hard drive to your computer to ensure your backups are up to date. It’s also a good idea to test your backups periodically to make sure they can be restored successfully.
I hope this helps you backup directly to your external hard drive!