Backup Files and Folders in Windows 11/10/8/7 | 2 Ways

Should you backup files and folders?

Computers play an important role in our daily life today. People use computers to do many things. As time goes by, users store a bunch of files and folders on the computer. However, computer isn’t a safe place for files and folders. 

There are many unexpected situations where your data can be lost permanently, such as system crash, computer stolen, hard drive broken, or even a natural disaster. The best way to keep the data safe is to backup files and folders. So, yes, you should backup your important files and folders definitely.

How to backup files and directories with inbuilt tool

How to backup files on a computer? You may ask this question. The Windows backup tool supports you to set up automatic backups or manual backups for your files and folders at any time. Take Windows 10 as an example.

1. Type “backup” in the search bar and choose Backup settings from the search results. Then, click Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

2. If you use the backup tool for the first time, click Set up backup, and then follow the wizard to backup your files and folders. If you have already created a backup before, you can wait for your scheduled backup to occur, or you can manually create a new backup by clicking Back up now.

Limitations of the inbuilt backup tool
👉 Backup and Restore may require an administrator password for confirmation, which is annoying.
👉 It cannot backup single files.
👉 It cannot compress the size of files/folders. So, if there are large files and folders, the backup images will occupy a large amount of space on the destination place.

Fortunately, there is a decent backup software that can run file and folder backup more flexibly without those restrictions - AOMEI Backupper Standard.

• It is free for Windows 11/10/8/7.
• You can use it to backup different types of files, such as photos, music, videos, office documents and so on.
• You are able to set up schedule backup to backup data automatically.
• It supports full backup and incremental backup. And differential backup is available in higher editions.

How to backup files and folders with AOMEI Backupper👍

I will show you how to backup a folder in Windows 10 using this freeware. Only a few clicks are needed. Before you do, here are some tips for you:

• Do not backup files and folders on the same hard drive that the Windows operating system is installed on.
• An external device could be the best choice to store the backup images. Such as external hard drive, CD/DVD, USB flash drive, etc.

Step 1. Download AOMEI Backupper Standard, install and launch it. Select File Backup under Backup tab.

Tip: Try the Cloud Backup feature instead if you want to backup files to a cloud drive. You’ll get 1TB of free cloud storage within 15 days after you sign up for an AOMEI account.

Step 2. Select the files and folders you want to backup by clicking Add File or Add Folder. You are able to backup files with a certain file extension after upgrading. Then, select the device where you want to store the backup images.

Step 3. After all the settings, click Start Backup to launch the progress. When it’s done, click Finish to exit.

✍ Notes:

★You can set up more by clicking Options. Here you can add comments, choose compression level for your large files/folders, etc.

★The Schedule Backup provides specific auto backup settings, including Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event triggers and USB plug in.

★ The Backup Scheme allows you to choose backup methods and set up automatic backup cleanup (available in AOMEI Backupper Professional or higher).

Final Words

With the help of AOMEI Backupper, you can backup files and folders with only few clicks. Once the data lost due to unexpected reasons, you can restore files with this backup image immediately to reduce the damage.

Besides, it has many other utilities for you to keep your data safe. When you want to upgrade hard drive on your computer, you can use it to migrate the OS and data without any problems. Why hesitate? Download and give it a try!