Learn the simplest way to back up Windows 11 to an external drive and schedule automatic backups in simple steps.
Most don’t know this, but Windows 11 has a built-in option to back up your operating system to an external drive. If needed, you can also back up all the files on all the drives using the same feature. For simple and automated backups, you don’t need to use third-party software. As you can guess, the backup helps you restore your system to a known good state when it becomes unstable, corrupted, or unbootable.
In this quick and easy guide, let me show you the steps to back up Windows 11 to an external drive. Let’s get started.
Good to know: How to create and use System Restore in Windows
Before You Start
- Your external drive must have more free space than the used space on your C: drive. If you plan to back up additional drives as well, the external drive must have more free space than the combined used space of all the drives you are backing up.
- The external drive should be in NTFS format.
- While not mandatory, an empty drive is preferable for backing up Windows 11.
- Plug in (connect) the external drive and then follow the steps below.
Steps to Back Up Windows 11 to an External Drive
- Open the Start menu by clicking the Windows icon on the taskbar.
- Search for “Control Panel” and click “Open“.
- Select the “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” option.
- Click the “Set up backup” option under the “Backup” section.
- Select the external drive and click “Next“.
- Choose the “Let Windows choose” and click “Next“.
- Let the default options be as is and click “Next“.
- Click the “Save settings and run backup” button.
- Windows 11 starts the backup process. It will take time to complete.
- Once completed, you will see a backup completed message.
- From now on, Windows 11 will automatically back up itself once every week if the external drive is connected.
- That’s it. With that, you’ve backed up Windows 11 to an external drive.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, we must open the Control Panel. To do that, open the Start menu by clicking on the “Windows” icon on the taskbar. Next, search for Control Panel and click the “Open” option.
Once the Control Panel window opens, click the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) option.
Now, click the Set up backup option under the Backup section.
Now, the tool will ask you to choose a drive. Select the external drive from the list and click the “Next” button. In my case, I’m selecting the drive G:.
Choose the “Let Windows choose” option and press “Next“.
Note: The default recommended option will backup all the user accounts, user folders, and the system image. If you want to backup additional files in other drives or specific folders, choose the “Let me choose” option and select what you want to backup. Keep in mind that selecting custom folders will increase the backup size and time it takes to create the backup.
On this screen, let the default options be as is, or select all the checkboxes under the “Data Files” option and click “Next“.
Once the backup settings are configured, click the “Save settings and run backup” button.
The Control Panel will start the Windows 11 backup to the external hard drive.
Depending on the backup size, it will take time to complete the initial backup. For example, in my case, it took around two hours to back up around 150 GB to a mechanical external hard drive. If your external device is an SSD, the backup will be done in less time. While the backup is running in the background, you proceed with your other work.
To check the current backup status, click on the “View Details” button in the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) window. It shows the current file that is being backed up.
Once the backup is complete, you will see a message stating the same. Also, by default, Windows will automatically run the backup task once every week. As long as the same external drive is connected, Windows will back up to it automatically.
Change Windows Backup Schedule
By default, the backup schedule is set to once every week. If you plug in the external device at the scheduled time, Windows 11 will automatically back up the changes since the last backup.
If you want to change the backup schedule, click the “Change Settings” link in the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) window and set the new time, date, and frequency.
Restore Windows 11 from an External Backup
To restore Windows 11 from external backup, plug in the drive, go to “Control Panel” > “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)“, click on the “Restore all user files” option under the Restore section, and follow the on-screen instructions.
That is all. It is that simple to back up Windows 11 to an external drive. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
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