How to Transfer Files to an External Hard Drive

There are many reasons you may need a backup hard drive on hand for your laptop or PC. Whether you need to backup your music, transfer some files for work, make space on your device to install new software, or simply make a copy of your files in case something unexpected happens, an external hard drive offers a convenient means of keeping your data available at all times.

Unlike cloud storage, which is susceptible to issues like DDoS attacks and depends on a steady internet connection to access, external hard drives can be used to backup your computer anywhere, and are always accessible as long as the drive is physically nearby. Best of all, transferring files to an external drive is a fairly straightforward process.

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Connecting Your Hard Drive
In order to transfer your files, applications, music, or photos to an external hard drive, the hard drive must first be connected to your computer. While some computers may require hardware configurations that should be addressed, most external hard drives only require that you plug them into one of your device’s USB drives to begin managing your files. If you need to install software first before using the drive, check to see if any discs came with the hard drive. If no disc is available, most manufacturers have the most up-to-date software for your hard drive available on their site. In either case, accessing your hard drive should be fairly easy.

Additionally, if your hard drive needs AC power to work, be sure you plug it into an outlet before accessing the drive. If your drive has a power switch, be sure you turn the device on and wait until it is recognized and initialized by your computer before managing your storage.

Creating Back Ups
Whether you use a Mac or a Windows computer, most operating systems will ask whether or not you want to backup your files with a pop-up prompt. Tell the computer that you do. If you don’t receive this prompt, you can go to the start menu, search “backup,” and select “Backup and Restore” for Windows. Or, go to System Preferences, then Time Machine, and select the device as a backup disc on Macs.

Once you’ve done this, it’s merely a matter of selecting the device you wish to transfer backup copies of your files to (whatever name your external hard drive appears as on your computer) and going through any additional prompts that pop up. The computer will make a snapshot copy of your computer’s files. If you keep your external hard drive plugged in, it’ll back up in the background in regular intervals, meaning you’ll never have to manually backup your files again.

Manually Backing Up Data
Of course, if there is something in particular you don’t want to lose on your computer, or if you don’t want to backup everything on your computer for the sake of storage space on your external drive, you may feel compelled to manually backup certain files to your drive. In this case, simply create a folder that contains whatever data you want to save, make copies of said data, and drag that folder into your external hard drive. The computer will handle the rest.

Mind the Gap
Once you’ve finally transferred whatever files you want saved, and you want to pull the plug on your hard drive, be sure you hit the “Eject” or “Disconnect” buttons before you do. This can be done by finding the folder displaying the hard drive, right clicking it and finding the corresponding prompt. Once you’ve done this, a notification will appear once it’s safe to disconnect. While this may seem tedious and time-consuming, it is very important to follow this procedure, as drives may sometimes lose data when yanked from the USB port without ejecting first.
In any event, following this guide will help you keep the information you treasure most from ever getting lost and, more importantly, readily available whenever you need to restore those files back to your device.