Auto Sync Files to External Hard Drive with Best Free Tool

Need to automatically sync files to external hard drive

“Hi, I have a laptop with about 400GB of files - pictures, docs, project files, etc. I wish to copy these files to an external hard drive which is 1TB in size.

However, I want the copy to be such that if I make any changes to my files on the laptop, these changes are synced to the external HDD. If I add or remove or move files, the same needs to be reflected on the external HDD. Is it possible? What is the best free file sync software? Any kindly advice will be appreciated.”

Sync, shorted for synchronization, can keep files in multiple locations up-to-date. That is to say, when you sync files to external hard drive, you can keep files on the external hard drive the same as files on your computer no matter if they are newly created or else.

In this way, you don’t need to update on both sides every time while keeping an up-to-date copy on external hard drive. Besides, automatically syncing files to external hard drive is one of the most popular ways to ensure data security. It can avoid data loss owing to computer issues, such as system crash, disk failure, virus attack, etc. 

In addition, some users may want to sync files between two external hard drives in Windows 11/10/8/7 to keep a duplicate copy while ensuring data security. No matter what your purpose is, you need the best free external hard drive sync software.

Up till now, you may have many questions, such as, how do I sync files to external hard drive in Windows 10? What is the best free external hard drive sync software? Don't worry about it! You will get all the answers in the following.

Best external hard drive sync software: FREE AOMEI Backupper🏆

If you are looking for the best sync software for external hard drive, consider using AOMEI Backupper Standard. It’s completely free and supports auto sync files to external hard drive or between two external hard drives without any obstacle.

• You are allowed to sync files to various destinations, including local disk, external hard drive, USB drive, or even another PC.
• You can set a sync task to run daily, weekly or monthly with the "Schedule Sync" feature.
• This software has a clear interface and user-friendly design so that users can understand all the steps easily and quickly.

It has 4 sync solutions, namely, Basic Sync, Real-Time Sync, Mirror Sync, and Two-Way Sync. They are used to meet different users' needs. However, the last three modes are available in AOMEI Backupper Professional or higher.

• Basic Sync: It runs one-way file sync from the source to the destination. 
• Real-Time Sync: It allows you to sync files and their changes immediately when detected. This is very useful if you need to modify your files frequently.
• Mirror Sync: It makes sure that the destination directory has the same files or folders as the source directory. Any newly added or modified files in the destination path will be deleted or overwritten.
• Two-Way Sync: It will sync files and their changes in the source directory to destination, and vice versa.

Case 1: Automatically sync PC files to external hard drive

First, connect the external hard drive to your computer and be sure it's recognized. Then, follow the steps below to automatically sync files to external hard drive via AOMEI Backupper.

1. Download, install and launch AOMEI Backupper Standard. Then, select “Basic Sync” under “Sync” tab.

2. In this window, click “Add Folder” to select the folder(s) on your computer needing sync. Then select a folder on external hard drive as destination location.

3. Set a schedule to auto sync to external hard drive. Click “Schedule Sync”, select daily, weekly, or monthly in the pop-out window and click "OK" to exit.

4. Finally, click “Start Sync” > “Add the schedule and start sync now” to begin the process.

Tips:
• If you set to run the task at a specified time in a day/week/month, you should plug in your external hard drive before the task starts. 
• Except for daily/weekly/monthly sync, you still can sync files during shutdown using "Event Triggers" or automatically sync files between computer and flash drive with "USB Plug in".

Case 2: Sync two external hard drives in Windows 11/10/8/7

First, connect two external hard drives you will use to your computer. Then, follow the steps below to sync files with AOMEI Backupper Standard.

1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Standard, and select “Basic Sync” under “Sync” tab.

2. Select "Add Folder" to locate the files you want to sync on the external hard drive. Then, click the second bar to select another external hard drive as destination.

3. Click "Schedule Sync" and select daily/weekly/monthly to auto sync files. After that, go back to the main page of Basic Sync, and click "Start Sync".

Written in the end

AOMEI Backupper is the best free external hard drive sync software that allows you to auto sync files to external hard drive or sync files between two external hard drives in Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista (both 32bit and 64bit). Also, you can enable its schedule sync to continuously protect your files.

In addition, its advanced versions provide you with 3 different sync solutions, that is, Real-Time Sync, Mirror Sync and Two-Way Sync. If they are more in line with your needs, you can choose to upgrade to the professional or server version. It all depends on the operating system you are using currently. 

Except for sync, you can use it to create complete system backup, restore system image to new hard drive, clone hard drive with different size, create bootable media, etc. If you have an AOMEI account, you are able to backup files to AOMEI Cloud. For more features, you can download it to explore yourself.