How Do I Copy My Computer to an External Hard Drive?

I need to copy my computer to an external hard drive to protect the data from hard drive crashes, virus attacks, or any other accidents. How do I do? Thanks a lot.

Data can easily be corrupted or lost due to drive failure, system damage, or virus attacks. Making an exact copy of your computer data on an external hard drive is indispensable to protect your data. 

For this purpose, using Windows' built-in system image backup function or third-party disk cloning software like EaseUS Disk Copy can help you copy your computer to an external hard drive. More details are below:

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1️⃣Use Windows' built-in system image backup function

  • Step 1. Open Control Panel, choose System and Security, and then select Backup and Restore
  • Step 2. Choose "Create a system image"
  • Step 3. Select the destination disk, your external hard drive
  • Step 4. Follow the wizard through the creation of the system image

Although Windows comes with a system image backup function, compared with third-party disk cloning software, it still has some shortcomings. For example, it cannot completely back up the entire hard disk, and data security is not guaranteed. In this case, you can use a professional backup tool like EaseUS Todo Backup to back up your computer to an external hard drive.

2️⃣Using third-party disk cloning software
Here are some great disk cloning tools to help you. Among them, EaseUS Disk Copy is very popular with its powerful cloning feature. It is a professional hard disk clone tool for copying a computer hard drive to an external hard drive. It fulfills your needs for data clone and transfer.

Here are the advantages of this disk clone tool:

  • The interface is more friendly, and the operation is more straightforward;
  • Completely clone the entire hard drive, including the operating system, programs, and data;
  • Supports cloning from the computer's internal hard drive to external hard drive and USB drive;
  • It can ensure data integrity and security during the cloning process and avoid data loss or damage.

This disk cloning software is more comprehensive, secure, and efficient than Windows' built-in backup function. EaseUS Disk Copy may be a better choice for you to back up your entire computer efficiently and securely. Now, you can download this clone tool and start your cloning process.

➡️Related article: How to Clone Hard Drive to USB External Drive

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Use EaseUS Disk Copy to upgrade small HDD, replace old/failed hard drive, migrate OS, clone HDD to SSD without reinstalling data.

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