Best Way to Do Real-Time Backup to External Hard Drive

What is a real-time backup

Real-time backup is also known as continuous data protection (CDP), or real-time sync. It refers to a type of backup that automatically saves a copy of every change made to the data.

Real-time backup is not like traditional backup. Traditional backups let you create snapshots of your data at specific times, allowing restoration to that point, but any changes after will be lost. Real-time backup, however, updates the target directory instantly with any changes made, ensuring you have an accurate copy but without multiple restore points.

It can be seen that there is no superiority or inferiority between the two. Whether to choose real-time backup depends on your data type and frequency of changes.

Reliable real-time backup software - AOMEI Backupper

To set up real-time backup to external hard drive, you need reliable third-party real-time backup software because the Windows built-in tool doesn’t have this kind of feature.

I highly recommend AOMEI Backupper Professional because it is a professional real-time backup software for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP, which allows you to backup files in real-time and store changes only since the last backup to save your disk space. It has a clear interface and user-friendly design so that you can figure it out quickly.

The Real-Time Sync feature (also a real-time backup) will detect the changes that happen to the file or folder in the source directory. Then, it will automatically sync files to an external hard drive, network, and even NAS in time.

Besides, you can also use it to create scheduled backup as a complement to the data protection strategy. For example, you can create real-time backups for some important files, while creating daily or weekly scheduled backups for the operating system, or even entire disks.

You can download the free trial to demonstrate these powerful features:

How to create real-time backup to external hard drive in Windows

Now, follow the detailed steps below to set up a real-time backup for continuous data protection.

✎Before setting up real-time file backup: Please connect the external drive to your computer and make sure it can be detected. If you want to keep syncing files to an external hard drive, you need to keep connecting the external hard drive to your computer.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Backupper. Click on Sync, and then select Real-Time Sync.

Step 2. Click Add Folder to add the items that you want to back up. Rename the Task Name if need be.

✎Tip: You can click Filter settings to include or exclude files and folders, such as backup files with certain extensions.

Step 3. Select the external hard drive as your destination path.

Step 4. Press Start Sync to start performing real-time backup to an external hard drive in Windows 10/8/7.

Flexible schedule options to auto-backup files to external drive

Besides real-time sync, you can also create scheduled backup flexibly with this software. Its options include daily, weekly, monthly, event triggers, and USB plug-ins.

The first three options are schedules based on backup frequency, while the last two options are based on specific events/operations.

By Event triggers, you can perform an automatic backup to the external hard drive at login/logoff, startup/shutdown.

By USB plug-in, the program will automatically backup the local data to the USB device or vice versa when it detects that the source or destination USB of the task is plugged in.

Situations to make real-time backup to an external drive

If you've used Windows Backup and Restore, you probably know that backing up files or folders to an external drive is recommended. This is because an external hard drive is independent of the Windows operating system as a removable device, making the data stored on it immune to system errors.

If the following conditions are met, a real-time backup to an external hard drive may even be better than a regular scheduled backup:

• Backing up time-sensitive data is crucial. For instance, if you edit a work document and need the latest version at home, you'll want to save it on an external drive.

• If you update files often, a daily backup might suffice. However, for frequent and irregular changes, real-time backup is more effective.

• Limited space is another consideration. Frequent scheduled backups can quickly fill up your disk, making real-time backup a more efficient use of space.

Besides, you can also consider a combination of real-time sync and scheduled backup. This will give you more flexibility in terms of data protection and recovery.

Backup and Restore vs. File History vs. Windows Backup Software

FAQs about real-time backup to an external hard drive

Q1: Can I automatically back up files to an external hard drive or network server?

A1: Yes, you can. You can use the three mentioned backup methods to do that. However, only AOMEI Backupper lets you back up to a network server, offering quick backup speeds and advanced compression to save both time and space.

Q2: How do I automatically sync files to an external hard drive on Windows 10?

A2: To automatically sync files to an external hard drive in Windows 10, AOMEI Backupper is a great option. It helps you save time and space, utilizing fast backup speeds and advanced compression technology.

Q3: Can Time Machine back up to an external drive?

A3: If you’re using a Mac and have an external storage device, you can use Time Machine to automatically back up all your files, including apps, music, photos, emails, and documents.

Conclusion

With AOMEI Backupper Professional, setting up real-time backup to external hard drive is an easy job. It takes only a few steps to achieve continuous data protection without interrupting your important work and rebooting a system.

As the best backup software for Windows PCs, it also allows you to create a system image to restore the system back to normal if the system fails to boot, backup the entire computer to external hard drive to protect everything, and so on.

If you are a Windows Server user, Please try the AOMEI Backupper Server.