How to Backup OneDrive Files to External Hard Drive?

Amy Dennis

Dec 16, 2024 • Filed to: Take Data Backup • Proven solutions

Having reliable OneDrive backup is critically crucial as you do not have to worry about losing important information. It can be lost through ransomware, accidental deletions, and hardware malfunctions. The problem with this is it will require a lot of time to try and get it back.

Storing your data in the cloud is the right approach, and you can access it while on the go. With Microsoft OneDrive, you can store data on Windows, Android, and iOS handheld devices. In case you want to access your OneDrive cloud, but you are using operating systems such as Linux or Mac, you can do so on its dedicated website. In addition to this, a dedicated Windows directory will help you perform OneDrive backup effortlessly.

Why Should You Backup OneDrive to an External Hard Drive?

Regardless of the platform that you are using, you can manage personal files using OneDrive, which is a cloud storage drive. What it does once the application is installed is sync the saved data to your local storage. It is something that happens in real-time.

The beauty of this is that OneDrive offline backup is possible. If you do not have internet access and you use different devices to access your saved files, all you need is to sync the removable storage device with the OneDrive folder.

Backing up OneDrive to external hard drive prevents you from the frustrations of unexpected data loss as it's a way to add up a layer of protection to it. The OneDrive files are corrupted or encrypted, and there are files corruptions of ransomware virus infection; this should not be a problem, and the syncing to the OneDrive cloud will be automatic.

3 Methods to Backup OneDrive Files to the External Hard Drive

For those using multiple devices and computers, Microsoft OneDrive comes in handy as it helps in better storage of photos, documents, and work files. Considering how important this is, how do you back it up? There are just three methods of how you can achieve this.

1 Automatically Backup OneDrive files from PC to the external hard drive

By Syncing Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive files to a PC and vice versa using Windows 10/8/7, you can use Wondershare UBackit. It is an excellent tool that is used in automatic and incremental backup. You do not want to backup all the data in the OneDrive folder to an external storage device. You can use Wondershare UBackit to backup the OneDrive files.

Whether you prefer backing up the OneDrive folder automatically or without schedule, UBackit can help you in doing it. And every user have one-month free trial.

To backup OneDrive to an external drive and still keep the OneDrive folder, the below steps will be useful. The OneDrive desktop app must be installed and configured on your computer.

Step 1: Install the Software

The first required thing to do here is to download the freeware of the Wondershare UBackit. Once installed, launch it properly.

Step 2: Create New Backup

Click on 'Create New' on the 'Backup&Restore' menu.

Step 3: Select OneDrive Folder

Click on the local disk to find out where the OneDrive folder is located.

Step 4: Choose the Destination

To select a preferred backup destination, you need to click 'External hard drive.'

Step 5: Initiate the Process

To execute the task, click 'Backup'

According to your configuration, the OneDrive folder content will be backed up to your external drive.

2 Backup and download OneDrive files online to the external HD

Well, to backup OneDrive to a hard drive is an effortless task as long as you know what to do. All you need first is to download the online saved OneDrive files to the external hard drive and then back them up.

Step 1. Login to access your account on https://onedrive.live.com.

Step 2. Select the OneDrive files that you want to be backed up from your account

Step 3. Select 'Download'

Step 4. After the OneDrive download location is changed to the external hard drive, the files will be downloaded to the external HD

3 Transfer and move the OneDrive folder to an external hard drive

To avoid sudden disasters and unknown errors that could lead to loss of files in the OneDrive in your PC, especially for business, you need to learn how to backup OneDrive to external drive. The tips below will help you in changing the current OneDrive location and sending the files to the external hard drive of your choice.

Step 1. The first step involves connecting your external hard drive to your computer.

Step 2. On the OneDrive in the tab, click on it. Click on 'Settings,' then 'Account,' and later 'Unlink this PC.' At this point, the OneDrive setup screen will be displayed, but you can ignore it.

Step 3. Here, select 'File Explorer' to see the OneDrive folder. Select 'Move to button' create and choose a folder on the external HD. All the OneDrive folder files will automatically be sent to the external hard drive.

Step 4. An OneDrive setup screen will be displayed, and you should log in with your OneDrive account.

Step 5. This is your OneDrive Folder Screen, click 'Change location' and choose a new OneDrive folder location. Select 'Use this location.'

Besides, to prevent data loss or damage on your computer, the default OneDrive folder location should be changed to an external hard drive.

Which Method Should You Prefer?

The life of computers can be unpredictable, and something could happen, and you end up losing your data. When you back up OneDrive to another, you will be protecting your files, photos, relevant data, and videos. When they are safely backed up, it will be easy to access them.

Your data has to be safe as you do not know who could access it. Whether it is personal or business data, keep it secure in different locations such as NAS drives, external hard drives, and memory cards. You do not have to stress over how-to backup OneDrive files as you can use Google Drive, Cloud, hubiC, Dropbox, Box, and SugarSync as they are cloud backup services that will help in syncing and backing up files.

The Wondershare UBackit gives you the flexibility of avoiding the stress that comes with backing up multiple tasks regularly. It is time-consuming and tiresome, but it is something that you can prevent, especially when in business. It is a data backup program for Windows that is not only user-friendly, but is also secure. With it, you can backup OneDrive for business to local storage such as computer hard disks, portable storage devices, and external hard drives.

You back up your data as you prefer, whether it is weekly, daily, or monthly. It is one reason that the tool has become popular in business places considering that you have the capability of scheduling, incremental, differential, or full backups. It will save you time and effort. The advanced technology makes it fast and efficient in the task.

Conclusion

Being able to access your files from multiple devices is an excellent way to conduct your daily tasks. It is where the importance of learning how to backup OneDrive files comes in. With this, you do not have to worry about data gaps or the device that you use dies. Your data will still likely be safe on the external device. You will have access to your data as long as you need it.

To make sure that the files in your OneDrive and the entire system are safe, Wondershare UBackit is a tool that will be useful. To backup OneDrive to the hard drive, this user-friendly tool will make everything easy for you.