Best Automatic Backup Software for External Hard Drive

Why Need Automatic Backup Software for External Hard Drive?

Nowadays, due to the painful experience of data loss, many people start to realize the importance of backup, especially for important working documents or precious memories of family members. In this case, it's suggested to find the best automatic external hard drive backup software and backup files to external hard drive, even if you ask a professional for the same answer. Below are the reasons that account for this:

First, the backup drive is universal and flexible. You can purchase any external storage regardless of its types and size, it can be a larger disk or smaller disk, or a combination, and take it everywhere if you need to use it. 

Second, it helps you avoid data loss. On the one hand, external hard drives like USB flash drive, HDD, SSD are far away from computer failure, for example, system crash, hard disk failure, fire, viruses, etc. Because they are not inside the computer. On the other hand, it will create a backup image automatically to prevent data loss due to forgetting to backup after you make any change. 

Best Windows Automatic Backup Software Comparison

Whether you want to backup files to external hard drive or backup external hard drive, this article helps you. I'll introduce you to 3 backup software for Windows 10/11 to external hard drive. You can choose one that best fits your need.

	Backup and Restore (Windows 7)	File History	AOMEI Backupper Professional
Supported OS	Windows 7, 8, 10, 11	Windows 8, 8.1, 10, 11	Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11
Backup to external disk	Yes	Yes	Yes
Backup from external disk	No	No	Yes
Schedule backup	Daily, Weekly, Monthly	From every 10 minutes to every 12 hours or every day	Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event triggers, USB Plug in
Backup destination	Internal or external drive, USB or network drive	Internal or external drive, USB or network drive	Internal or external drive, USB drive, share or network drive, cloud drive, etc.
Other features	System backup	No	System, partition, disk, cloud, email backup, and more

Since "Backup and Restore (Windows 7)" and "File History" are Windows built-in backup software, they only support backing up data on the local disk and save them to external disk.

Unlike them, AOMEI Backupper Professional is able to backup files from or to external disk. And it supports more backup features, such as, Event triggers, USB plug in, System Backup, Disk Backup, etc. Not only that, it's simple and easy to use, even for novices.

How to Create Automatic Backup to External Hard Drive in Windows 10/11

So if you want the best automatic backup software to backup files from or to an external hard drive, AOMEI Backupper Professional is a great choice. With it, you can backup files, system, disk, partition, and enjoy many useful features during this process.

💜 Run backup tasks automatically in daily, weekly or monthly, or use event triggers and USB plug in mode, even during off-peak hours.
💜 Backup only changed files with incremental or differential backup, thereby saving disk space.
💜 Password encrypt backup image to add an extra layer of data security.
💜 Delete old backup images regularly with one of the automatic backup cleanup methods to free up disk space completely.
💜 Restore files from file backup or other backup images corresponding. The selective file restore and universal restore features are supported.

Besides, it has great compatibility with the storage device and Windows system. Except for external drive, it still allows you to backup to USB flash drive, network drive, NAS and so on in Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server.

To get started, please download this software immediately!

Connect an external hard drive to your computer. Then, follow the instructions below to run automatic computer backup to external hard drive.

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Professional after installing. Then, click "Backup" -> "File Backup" in order.

Note: If you want to backup external hard drive with everything on, you could use the "Disk Backup" feature.

Step 2. Click "Add File" or "Add Folder" to select files or folders you want to backup.  

Step 3. Click where the arrow points and select the external drive or USB drive as backup location.

Step 4. Enable “Schedule Backup” as necessary. It will automatically backup changed files with the incremental backup method by default.

Note: If the target drive is a USB drive, choose "USB Plug in". It's the easiest way to backup files to or from USB - you just need to plug it in when you want to backup, NOT always connected.

Step 5. Enable “Backup Scheme” to delete old backups automatically, thus avoiding the backup disk full issue. Finally, click "Start Backup" to run automatic backup software for external hard drive.

FAQs about Automatic Backup Software for External Hard Drive

1. Is Windows 10 built-in backup any good?

Windows 10 backup is good if you just want to create a file backup, but it is not enough. To make the backup task more flexible, try third-party software like AOMEI Backupper Professional. It supports more backup destinations, and other functions like system backup, disk backup, etc.

2. How often should you back up your computer to external hard drive?

This depends heavily on its importance and how often it is modified. If either of them is yes, backup at least once a week, but I prefer to backup them every day and set it to run automatically.

3. Is it better to back up to cloud or external hard drive?

Both external hard drive and cloud storage help you save local disk space. You may choose a backup storage according to your specific need:

• The cloud is better if you need easy access from multiple devices or locations and prefer automatic backups without manual intervention.
• An external hard drive is better for backing up large files quickly and without relying on an internet connection. It also gives you peace of mind knowing that your data is physically stored in your possession.

Conclusion

AOMEI Backupper Professional is the easiest automatic backup software for external hard drive. With it, you can choose to backup files to or from an external hard drive as per your need. Also, it provides other backup solutions, including "System Backup" and "Partition Backup". Why not give it a shot?