Perform Windows 11 Cloud Backup for Files/Entire PC: 3 Ways

Does Windows 11 have cloud backup?

Actually, Windows 11 does not come with a built-in cloud backup feature. However, Microsoft offers OneDrive, which is a cloud storage service integrated into Windows 11. You can manually backup files and folders to OneDrive, and it provides automatic syncing of certain folders.

Need to perform Windows 11 cloud backup 

Typically, people are used to backing up Windows 11 to Synology NAS, to local or external hard drives. With the increased practicality and security of cloud devices, more and more people are choosing to create cloud backups for Windows 11. This is because it can avoid data loss due to system crashes, disk failures, fires, theft, virus attacks, etc.

Wanna know what the best cloud backup for Windows 11 is? How does it back up your Windows 11 to the cloud safely and effectively? Learn more specific information below on your own.

How to perform Windows 11 cloud backup in 3 ways easily

Backing up Windows 11 to cloud protects your files from natural disasters and system collapse, and it allows you to access your data from multiple devices with an Internet connection. But what is the best cloud backup for Windows? And how to backup computer files to cloud, or even the entire PC?

Well, in the following part, I've summarized the top 3 solutions for you to finish this task. You can check them in turn and figure out which one suits you best according to your real needs. Let's get started.

👉 Method 1. Backup Windows 11 files to Google Drive
👉 Method 2. Cloud backup Windows 11 PC using IDrive
👉 Method 3. Perform Windows 11 cloud backup with AOMEI Backupper🔥

Method 1. Backup Windows 11 files to Google Drive

Google Drive for desktop app replaced Backup and Sync as the default app for Drive. It's functionally the same thing with a few added features, like the virtual drive, as well as simplified settings. You can follow the steps below to copy files to Google Drive. 

1. Download and install Google Drive for desktop on your computer. Then, log in to your Google Drive account.

2. You'll find Google Drive’s app in the taskbar. Click on the app’s icon and then click the gear icon in the top-right corner. You should see the Preferences menu there.

3. You'll see two parts on this app: My Computer and Google Drive. Make sure you’re on the My Computer tab and click on Add folder to sync specific folders to Google Drive. 

4. Next you need to choose whether to sync all your files to the cloud, or just your photos and videos. The option Sync with Google Drive will upload everything, while the Back up to Google Photos option will only back up the photos and videos the software detects in that folder. Click Done and then Save to start the backup process.

5. At the Google Drive section, you can choose the way to sync files from Google Drive to PC (Google Drive folder). There are two ways available: Stream files and Mirror files. Stream files is recommended to save space on your computer hard drive. Confirm your settings and click Save. It may require a restart to make the changes take effect.

 Notes:
♦Full automation. All selected files and edits will be automatically backed up on your computer as soon as they appear on Google Drive.
♦Google Drive for desktop is a two-way file sync software for you to share files on multiple devices anywhere and anytime.

Method 2. Cloud backup Windows 11 PC using IDrive

IDrive offers a unique combination of cloud storage and cloud backup. It also offers a host of backup features, including disk image backup, NAS backup and server backup, though its speeds could be better. The privacy and security of IDrive is also airtight, which makes it a good cloud backup software. Now, let's see how IDrive backs up entire PC for you.

1. Download, install IDrive on your computer and run it, you will be asked to sign in or create a new account.

2. Once you landed in, click the Clone/Computer Backup button to backup your entire PC.

3. Then click Entire Machine Backup.

4. Under Backup tab, select the Cloud Backup or Encrypted Local Backup.

5. The Schedule Backup page will pop up. You can Start the backup immediately or create a schedule for performing regular entire machine backup, and click Save Changes.

IDrive can assist you to achieve file backup in schedule or create a full backup of your computer. But since IDrive has limited free storage space, you need to upgrade in advance before backing up, otherwise the backup will fail. And its features are limited, the free trial period is only 30 days. If you are still looking for free, more professional third-party software for Windows 11 cloud backup, then you can continue to read the following solution.

Method 3. Perform Windows 11 cloud backup with AOMEI Backupper

What if you not only want to backup your important files, but also to create a full backup of your Windows 11, like creating a system image backup for Windows 11? Then the one that can meet your needs can be AOMEI Backupper Standard.

This professional Windows 11 backup software offers an intuitive interface and reliable performance, so no technical skills are required and you can benefit from its powerful features:

• Backup types: As the best cloud backup software for Windows 11, it allows you to backup system, partitions, files, and disks. 
• Various cloud storage: It supports multiple cloud devices such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, etc., so you can perform Windows 11 OneDrive backup or Google Drive backup easily.
• Various locations: You can backup to multiple devices, such as cloud drive, external hard drive, USB drive, NAS device, etc.
• High compatibility: It supports multiple Windows operating systems, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, XP, and Vista.

Then, you can download this freeware and follow the graphic tutorial below to how to backup Windows 11 to cloud. Here we take doing OneDrive backup of Windows 11 as an example.

 Note: Don't forget to download the desktop application for the corresponding cloud drive. For OneDrive, the OneDrive application comes with Windows 11, so you can find and use it directly on your computer without downloading. For Google Drive, you need to download Drive for desktop.

Step 1. Go to the Backup tab, and then choose Disk Backup. 

Step 2. Click + Add Disk to choose your Windows 11 hard disk as the source disk.

Step 3. Select the OneDrive folder as the destination to save the disk image of your computer.

Tips:
OneDrive desktop folder is probably located in C:\Users\UserName\OneDrive.
Google Drive folder is typically located in C:\Users\UserName\Google Drive (replace the UserName with your current user name, the following is the same).
Dropbox folder is located in C:\Users\UserName\Dropbox by default.

Step 4. Press Start Backup to create Windows 11 backup to cloud easily.

►Options: It allows you to modify the backup image, like compress, split, encrypt (encrypt is available after upgrading to the Professional edition). You can also write comments to your backup tasks and set notifications.
►Schedule Backup: You could enable the schedule option to run this backup task at daily, weekly, monthly, event triggers, and USB plug in.
►Backup Scheme: It's useful to manage your hard disk storage space and allows you to delete old backup images. (in paid version)

Conclusion

That's all about the top 3 ways for Windows 11 cloud backup. Whether you prefer to use the Google Drive (Drive for desktop) app, IDrive, or AOMEI Backupper, you can follow the specific steps to finish the task effortlessly. If you encounter any problem when using the Google Drive app, you can use the alternative introduced in this article.

It is highly suggested to use AOMEI Backupper to keep your data safe, for its simple interface and powerful features. AOMEI Backupper is also the best clone tool, you can clone Windows 11 to another hard drive simply. Don't hesitate to give it a try!