How to Backup OneDrive to an External Drive

Want to take your onedrive data backup to an external drive? In this article, we will cover, how to backup onedrive to an external drive.

In the modern internet world, Microsoft OneDrive is a popular cloud storage option with 5GB of free storage for storing data items. Presentations, PDFs, audio files, and many others, can all be saved. Movies, documents, audio, and numerous other types of media. 

Users can access & browse data stored or saved on OneDrive at any time from any location. However, the security and privacy of Microsoft OneDrive’s data are far beyond question. Furthermore, backing up data from OneDrive to an external hard drive is a conservative measure to ensure data security.

By reading the rest of this technical article, learn how to backup OneDrive data to an external hard drive. Furthermore, read this article to avoid missing any steps that can cause you to fail in making an external hard drive backup.

How to Backup OneDrive to an external drive

There are two ways to perform this task, which we will detail for you in the following sections.

Using the OneDrive website, OneDrive windows 10 application or Mac computer, and pro backup software, you can preserve OneDrive data on your external hard drive. 

We advise using the OneDrive site or desktop software if you only need to back up a few files. Using specialized file backup software is preferable when dealing with a big number of files or folders because it improves efficiency.

Method 1: How to Backup OneDrive to External Hard Drive from Browser

OneDrive files can be downloaded and backed up to an external hard drive using a Web browser if you’ve saved them online and do not wish to use any software.

The methods for downloading the OneDrive files and backing them up to an external hard drive are listed below:

Step 1: Mount the external hard drive to the computer and configure your web browser to use it as the download location:

• Click on three dots on your Chrome browser and choose Settings

• Now type Download and click on Change under the Download section.

• Choose your External Drive as the location and click on Select.

By doing this, you can back up OneDrive files to an external hard drive.

Step 2: Open the OneDrive site from your browser and log in to your OneDrive account. 

Step 3: Choose the files you want to backup from OneDrive to your external hard drive.

Step 4: Click on “Download” to download the file to your external hard drive. This will back up OneDrive files to the external hard drive.

Furthermore, your OneDrive files will be accessible here on the external hard drive once finished. After that, you can access and use your file from your external hard drive.

Remember: Keep in mind to restore the OneDrive download path from the external hard drive to the previous default location. If not, all data will be stored on your external Hard drive till it is connected and will stop storing when it’s disconnected.

Read How to Transfer Everything from Dropbox to OneDrive

Method 2: Transfer or move the OneDrive folder to an external hard drive 

You must know how and where to backup OneDrive for Organization to local storage to prevent unexpected circumstances and faults from wiping out files on your PC, especially for the organization. 

The following steps will assist you in modifying your current OneDrive location by sending the data to your external hard drive.

Step 1: Before beginning the process, your external hard drive should be attached to your computer.

Step 2: Open the OneDrive window on your computer. Click on Preferences on the Onedrive. Then click on Account, and at last, Unlink this PC. 

Note: After Unlinking the PC, the OneDrive setup screen will be popped on your screen; ignore it just for now by minimizing it, and don’t close it.

Step 3: Now, Open File Explorer or Finder and go to the location where you have the OneDrive folder. 

Step 4: Click on the Move to option on the top menu, create a folder or select a folder on the external Hard drive. 

All files in the OneDrive folder will instantly be transferred to the external hard drive.

Step 5: Open the minimized OneDrive setup screen, and log in with your OneDrive account.

Step 6: In the OneDrive Screen, click on Change location and select a new OneDrive folder location for your data. After selecting the location, click on Use this location.

This will prevent data loss or damage on your computer by changing the default OneDrive folder location to an external hard drive. 

Read How to Check OneDrive Space

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion 

Accessing your files from various devices is a great method to carry out your regular chores. This is where knowing how to back up OneDrive files is crucial. 

With this, you won’t have to be concerned if your gadget breaks down or there are data gaps. The external device will likely still be a secure location for your data. Your data will be available to you for as long as you require it.

Backing up OneDrive to the hard drive will make it simple for you to ensure the safety of the contents in your account and the entire system.

The external device will keep your data secure. Without an internet connection, you may access them whenever you want.

You may like the following onedrive tutorials:

• How to Save Outlook Emails to OneDrive
• How to stop onedrive automatically backing up
• Add OneDrive to Finder
• Make Sure OneDrive is running on your PC, then try again