Part 1: On Windows: Backup Windows Computer to External Hard Drive. The first step when you are looking to back up a computer to external hard drive is to get a drive for backup. You may get a USB device or some external hard drives for that purpose. It is recommended to get one that almost doubles the size of your original hard drive so that. The bottom line is, learning how to backup your computer to an external hard drive is just a smart and prudent thing to do. Sure, it’s not the most fun piece of housekeeping, but setting yourself up now with a simple, easy-to-repeat process, may well save you hours of heartbreak and hassle further down the road. The philosophy on external drives used for backup is that copying 10 years’ worth of photos onto an external drive and then erasing it on your PC’s local drive isn’t actually a backup at all. The Seagate Backup Plus Desktop is one of the best external storage devices out there in the market. It is the pioneer drive that offers as much as 5TBs of space for data storage. 5 TB is the maximum amount of storage that you could ever find in the current market. Just follow Our best external hard drive for backup review to know how you can easily expand the hard drive storage in your PC or Laptop. If your expectation is not to go too expensive, then our best external hard drives are well enough to save, secure, and protect all your important files and folders.
Dec 21, 2020 • Filed to: Take Data Backup • Proven solutions
When we use a computer so extensively, we usually store a good deal of our important data on them. This includes photos, videos, audio files, documents, and every other kind of data. While it is very easy to store and access all of our data on computers, protecting it might not be as easy as we usually anticipate. Taking backups of all your important data is an important consideration in this regard. There are different ways to back up the data present on your hard drive. A few details that you might find useful in this regard are mentioned below.
- Types of Backup Device
- Top 5 Best Computer Backup Drives
- The Best Backup Software - AOMEI Backupper
Part 1: What Kind of Backup Device You Choose?
When it comes to taking backup of your data, you have got several different options. Some people prefer cloud storage services while others go for computers located in other places. CDs, DVDs, USB sticks, and other similar devices are also used in this regard but if you are looking for the best possible choice when it comes to taking a backup of your data, it is highly recommended to go for an external hard drive. The external hard drive is undoubtedly the best and safest computer backup device as it offers extensive storage space and incorporates several safety features as well. In addition to this, it is physically strong and well guarded which keeps it from sustaining any physical damages, unlike CDs and DVDs.
Part 2: Top 5 Best Computer Backup Drives
- 1. Seagate Backup Plus Desktop
- 2. Seagate Backup Plus Slim
- 3. Seagate Backup Plus Fast
- 4. WD My Passport Slim
- 5. WD My Passport Ultra
There are numerous different kinds of external hard disk drives available in the market. But if you are interested in buying the best one among others, you might want to check out the ones discussed in the sections below.
1. Seagate Backup Plus Desktop
The Seagate Backup Plus Desktop is one of the best external storage devices out there in the market. It is the pioneer drive that offers as much as 5TBs of space for data storage. Origin sims 4. 5 TB is the maximum amount of storage that you could ever find in the current market. If you are looking for a drive for backup purposes, this might be the best choice so far. Macdrive pro download.
The Seagate backup plus desktop offers a fast data transference and incorporates a very user-friendly software application known as the Seagate Dashboard. It is a high-end computer backup software that is known to offer a high level of functionalities. The device may also be found in smaller sizes including 2 TB, 3 TB, and 4 TB variants.
2. Seagate Backup Plus Slim
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim may be thought of as the portable variant of the above discussed Backup Plus Desktop model. It is a bus-powered drive which means that it requires only a USB cable to work properly. If you are one of those people who travel a lot and want to take all your data along, this 2 TB portable hard drive might do the trick for you.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Fast
The Seagate Backup Plus Fast is almost double in comparison to the drive discussed above on accounts of performance, physical thickness, and capacity as well. If you are interested in buying an external drive with a 4 TB capacity that incorporates USB 3.0, this might be the only option you have got out there. In addition to USB 3.0, it also offers a high speed of 200 MBps which makes it among the fastest external hard drives currently available in the market.
4. WD My Passport Slim
![External External](https://www.recordnations.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Bad-Document-Management-EDMS-Is-Better.jpg)
The WD My Passport Slim is yet another high end external hard drive that might help you fulfill all your external storage requirements. This device offers a storage space of 2 TB with USB 3.0 and speed that exceeds 100 MBps. Just like the majority of the WD devices out there, this one also comes with the WD Smart Ware Backup Software that helps you backup all your data very easily and conveniently. In addition to this, it also protects your data from accidental editing and other similar issues associated with data storage. So if you are looking to buy an external hard drive that is comparatively cheaper yet offers some of the best possible features, the WD My Passport Slim is the device you want to consider.
5. WD My Passport Ultra
The WD My Passport Ultra offers storage of 2 TB and incorporates USB 3.0 connectivity. The handy software called WD Smart Ware Backup is also included with the WD My Passport Ultra drive. The data transference speed offered by this drive is faster by 10 MBps.
Backup Devices | Capacities | Weight | Dimensions | Bus-powered | Top speed |
Seagate Backup Plus Desktop | 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, 5TB | 2.38 lbs. (1.1kg) | 6.2 x 4.9 x 1.7 inches (15.7 x 12.4 x 4.3cm) | No | 180MBps |
Seagate Backup Plus Slim | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | 5.6 oz (159g) | 4.5 x 3 x 0.4 inches (11.4 x 7.6 x 1cm) | Yes | 120MBps |
Seagate Backup Fast | 4TB | 68 lb (308g) | 4.6 x 3.2 x 0.8 inches (11.7 x 8.1 x 2cm) | Yes | 230MBps |
WD My Passport Slim | 1TB, 2TB | 5.6 oz (159g) | 4.3 x 3.1 x 0.5 inches (10.9 x 7.9 x 1.3cm) | Yes | 108MBps |
WD My Passport Ultra | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | 9 oz (255g) | 4.3 x 3.2 x 0.5 inches (10.9 x 8.1 x 1.3cm) | Yes | 119MBps |
Tips:
- Always buy a drive that is double in capacity to your primary hard drive.
- Prefer buying a drive that offers USB 3.0
Part 3: The Best Backup Software for Windows
When it comes to the best computer backup software for Windows, AOMEI Backupper Professional is a force to be reckoned with. It incorporates versatile utilities including backup, restoration, and clone to cate for varied computer backup needs. Its versatile functions and intuitive interface makes data backup a piece of cake. Here, let's have a look at some of its features and pick it to embark on our pleasant backup journey.
- Allows you to take automatic, full, incremental, and differential backups of system, disk, partition, and files.
- Supports system restore, disk restore, dissimilar hardware restore, partition restore, and selective file restore.
- Supports disk clone, partition/volume clone, flexible clone, system clone, and command line clone.
- Supports Windows 10, Windows 8.1/8, Windows 7, Vista, and XP (all editions, 32/64-bit)
Data Backup Services
- Computer Backup
- Hard Drive Backup
- Mac Backup
- Cloud Backup
A computer back up system is paramount with home computers approaching the terabyte boundary. Reconstructing the operating system alone can be time consuming even if data files have been archived to compact discs or other media. Total war warhammer mac free. The best computer back up system for an individual is dependent on many factors, including personal needs, preferences, skills and financial considerations.
External, magnetic tape drives provided affordable back ups at a time when the alternative was floppy disks, or later, compact discs. While still widely used for backing up networks, most tape drives have extremely slow access times. With the falling price of hard drives and more convenient alternatives, the magnetic tape drive is becoming legacy and is not the best choice for the home user.
Some people opt to use software to make a disk image of their system. A disk image is one large, compressed file that takes up far less space than cloning or copying a disk. The disk image can be saved anywhere, even on the primary drive, though this isn’t the best place. It’s safer to put the disk image on a secondary or external drive. In the event of primary disk failure, the image can be used to recreate the system on a new hard drive.
The advantage of a disk image is that it consumes a relatively small amount of space. A disadvantage is that it cannot be directly accessed, but must be restored by the software that created it. This can mean booting from a proprietary CD to access the restoration process. Though the procedure is not complicated it can be a little nerve wracking to have to “jump through hoops” to get the system rebuilt.
A better computer back up system dedicates a secondary hard disk as a clone for the primary disk. If the primary disk fails, the secondary disk takes its place. No restoration is required, no downtime, and no hassle. You simply boot from the back up drive and go about your business.
Software like the popular Acronis™ can clone a primary disk to a secondary disk in a matter of minutes. The secondary disk can be internally installed or it can be housed in an external enclosure. In the event of disk failure, a desktop or laptop has the ability to boot from an external device so that work can continue using the external (or secondary) drive until the failed drive has been replaced. At that point the external drive is cloned back to the new, primary drive.
The nice thing about this computer back up system is that there are no hoops to jump through and you don’t have to wait for a replacement drive to continue working. Your clone is ready from the moment the main drive fails. If the secondary drive is housed externally, you can also keep it in a secure place like a fireproof, locked safe. The downside to using this computer back up system is that a new disk must be purchased, and the entire disk must be dedicated as the clone.
Another solution that uses two disks (minimum) is RAID or Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Both drives are installed internally, making this a desktop-only solution. RAID has different flavors or methods of functioning, referred to as RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 2, etcetera. RAID 1 is a mirror technology, meaning everything that is written to the primary drive is written simultaneously to a secondary drive, keeping a constant duplicate or mirror of the primary drive. If one of the drives fails, it’s replaced, and the mirror drive copies itself to the replacement drive.
![Best Hard Drive To Backup Computer Best Hard Drive To Backup Computer](https://cdn.thewirecutter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Reformatting-in-windows-630x420.png)
An advantage over the previous computer back up system is that both drives are always current. Disadvantages include setting up RAID (a motherboard function), which can be technically challenging. RAID 1 also doubles the load on the computer processing unit (CPU) which could slow some systems. Additionally, mirroring opens the door to corrupting both drives with the same malicious event. Using the previous solution if a system acts up after installing a program, for example, one can use the “offline” clone drive to copy over the primary drive, returning it to a prior state.
If you aren’t inclined to add a dedicated clone drive, remote backup services are available online. Users subscribe to the service, set up credentials for entering a secure server, and use the site’s software to back up his or her system to the remote Web server.
Best External Hard Drive To Backup Computer
Advantages include ease of use and online access to the computer back up system from anywhere in the world. The back up is also safe from damage that could befall your personal computer from natural disaster or theft. Disadvantages include inherent risks of placing data on a server than is not owned by you, and over which you have little ultimate control. It’s also important to note that you cannot boot from an online remote backup.