How to Back Up an External Hard Drive Without Any Software

If your external hard drive has failed, run out of space, or is performing poorly, you might want to get a new one with more capacity and better performance. But what about the data on it? That's where backing up your hard drive comes in. But have you been wondering how to backup an external hard drive without any software?

This article will teach you how to back up an external hard drive without software, as well as provide a better solution for backing up your hard drive to keep the data on your external drive safe.

Isn't there any software to back up an external hard drive?

External hard drives have long been an important device for storing large amounts of data due to their capacity and affordability. With an external hard drive, you can:

Given its convenience, many people choose to back up or store data on an external hard drive. That's why backing up an external hard drive is also important. But have you ever been bothered by questions like “Can I back up an external hard drive without any software?” or “How do I back up an external hard drive without software?”

Yes, you can back up your external hard drive without any software to protect your data. For instance, you can manually copy and paste the external hard drive to another external hard drive. Let's delve into how to do that in detail.

Recommended Reading: How to Clone External Hard Drive to Another External Hard Drive

How to Back Up an External Hard Drive Without Software Backing up the contents of an external hard drive to another location securely is an important step in protecting your data. Typically, you can use backup software to perform this task, but it's also possible to do it manually without such tools. Here are two methods for how to back up the contents of an external hard drive without using any software. ## Using Windows' Copy and Paste Feature 1. **Connect the external hard drive to your computer.** This can be done via a USB port or another interface like Thunderbolt or Firewire. Make sure the drive is properly installed and recognized by your computer. 2. **Open File Explorer or "My Computer."** In Windows 10, click the folder icon on the taskbar, or press `Win + E` on your keyboard. 3. **Find the drive letter of the external hard drive.** It usually appears at the bottom of the window, such as "E:\" or "F:\". If you're unsure which one it is, check its name or capacity. 4. **Create a new folder to save the backup.** Find a suitable location on your computer, like "Documents," "Pictures," or another folder where you want to store the backup. Right-click that location, then select "New" > "Folder." 5. **Name the new folder.** For example, you could call it "External_HDD_Backup" or include a date, like "2022-01-01_External_HDD_Backup." 6. **Expand the folders on the external hard drive.** Click it to show its contents. 7. **Select the files and folders you want to back up.** Hold down `Ctrl` while clicking each item you want to back up. Alternatively, hold `Shift` and click the first and last item to select multiple consecutive files and folders. 8. **Copy the selected files and folders.** Click "Edit" in the top menu, then choose "Select All" (or press `Ctrl + A`). Next, click "Edit" > "Copy" (or press `Ctrl + C`). 9. **Paste the files into the backup folder.** Navigate to the backup folder you created earlier, then click "Edit" > "Paste" (or press `Ctrl + V`). This will initiate the copying process, which may take some time depending on file size. 10. **Wait for the copying process to finish.** Do not disconnect the external hard drive or close the window until all files have been copied. Once complete, you can safely unplug the drive, knowing your data is backed up. ## Using macOS's Drag-and-Drop Function 1. **Connect the external hard drive to your Mac.** Plug the hard drive into your Mac using a USB-C, USB 3.0, or Thunderbolt connection. 2. **Open Finder.** Its icon looks like a smiling face and can be found in the Dock. 3. **Locate the external hard drive volume.** In the left sidebar of Finder, scroll down to the "Devices" section. The external hard drive should appear as an icon with its name next to it. 4. **Choose a location on your Mac to save the backup.** Open a Finder window and find where you want to save the backup, such as "Documents," "Downloads," or another folder. 5. **Create a new folder to save the backup.** In the Finder window, right-click (or press `Control` and click) the blank area, then choose "New Folder." 6. **Name the new folder.** For instance, type "External_HDD_Backup" or include a date, like "2022-01-01_External_HDD_Backup." 7. **Select the files and folders to back up from the external hard drive.** In Finder, click the external hard drive volume, then choose the items you want to back up. Hold down `Command` while clicking each item, or hold `Shift` to select consecutive items. 8. **Drag the files to the backup folder.** Drag the selected files and folders from the external hard drive to the backup folder you created. This will begin the copying process, which may take some time depending on file size. 9. **Wait for the copying process to complete.** Do not disconnect the external hard drive until all files have been copied. Once finished, you can safely unplug the drive, knowing your data is backed up. Please note that this method does not create incremental or differential backups, so every backup will copy all files, even if they haven't changed since the last backup. If you desire more advanced backup features, consider using dedicated backup software.

As mentioned above, it's possible to backup an external hard drive without software. But to be honest, your options are limited. There are two methods that can help you backup an external hard drive without any third-party software.

Method 1: Copy the Data Manually

The simplest way to back up an external hard drive is to copy and paste its contents onto the new one. Here's how to do it for Windows and Mac:

For Windows:

Step one: Connect the external hard drive to your computer.

Step 2. In This PC, locate the external drive you want to back up.

Step 3. Right-click the external drive and select “Copy,” or press Command+C after selecting the drive.

Step 4. Go to another drive or the location on your computer where you want to save the backup. Then press Ctrl+V, or right-click and choose Paste.

Step 5: Wait for the copying and pasting to finish.

For Mac users:

Step 1: Connect the external drive to your Mac.

Step 2: Open the “Finder” and locate your external drive.

Step 3. Right-click on the external drive and choose “Eject.”

Step Four: Select the files and folders you'd like to back up, and then copy them to your target drive using Command-C and Command-V.

Method 2: Use Windows Easy Transfer

You can also use built-in tools in your operating system to back up an external hard drive without any software. Windows Easy Transfer is a tool that can help you. It's included with Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1, and it lets you back up your data and transfer it from one computer to another, or from one external hard drive to another.

Here are the steps to back up to an external hard drive using Windows Easy Transfer on Windows 7/8:

The first step is to connect both external hard drives to your computer.

Step 2: Click the Start menu and open Control Panel.

Step 3: Click “System and Security,” and then click “Backup and Restore.”

Step 4: Click on “Windows Easy Transfer” in the bottom left corner.

Click “Windows Easy Transfer”.

Step 5: When the Windows Update Assistant window opens, click Next.

Step 6: Make sure your new external hard drive is connected to your computer, then choose “External Hard Drive” or “USB Flash Drive.”

Select an external hard drive or USB flash drive:

Step 7: Choose This is my old computer.

Step 8: Wait while your computer searches for the files and estimates their size; this might take a while.

Step 9: Click “Next,” enter your Windows password, and click “Save.”

Step 10: Save the files to the new external drive.

### Backup External Drives with Hard Disk Backup Software

Both methods above let you back up an external drive without any software, but they're more time-consuming and require you to remember to update your backups manually.

Moreover, Windows Easy Transfer is unavailable in Windows 10/11. Thus, they are not the best methods to back up an external hard drive and don't meet the 3-2-1 backup rule.

In this case, using a third-party backup software would be your best choice. A professional backup tool like Todo Backup can offer you more advanced backup options and fewer backup limitations.

Todo Backup Home is a practical and user-friendly backup and recovery solution for Windows 11/10/8/7. It enables users to automatically back up files, disks, partitions, systems, and even computer applications. Additionally, it supports backing up multiple drives at once and creating ISO images of hard disks.

Main features of Todo Backup:

Todo Backup is a secure program to download and use on your computer that can help you accomplish many tasks. After connecting an external drive to your computer, you can use it for backing up. Here's how to back up an external hard drive on your computer after installing it:

Step 1: Choose what to back up

Step 2: There are four backup categories: Files, Disks, System, and Mail. Click on Disks.

Step 3: You can back up the entire disk or a specific partition. Choose what you need and then click “OK”.

Step 4: Choose where you want to save your backup.

Step 5: For disk/partition backup, you can choose to save the backup to a local drive or NAS.

Step 6: Once the backup is complete, the task will appear in the left panel. Right-click on any task to manage your backups further, such as restoring a backup or creating an incremental backup.

In short

Now you know how to back up an external hard drive without software. In short, you can use the copy and paste method and Windows Easy Transfer to help you create a backup of your external drive without using any software.

The first method takes longer and requires you to keep your backups up to date, though. The latter is not available in Windows 11/10.

In this case, using professional backup software like the Todo Backup tool would be your best option. It can assist you in creating automatic and scheduled backups for your external hard drive, thus sparing you the effort and making the process more hands-off.

Todo Backup is a versatile backup tool with many features. Download and install it to discover its endless possibilities!

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Backup an External Hard Drive Without Software

**1. How can I back up a hard drive without an operating system?**

To backup data from hard drive without operating system, you can use the Todo Backup tool to quickly back up the failed internal hard drive to an external one when the OS is not working. The purpose of this method is to create a bootable disk by burning the Windows PE image to a blank USB. After booting the computer from the bootable disk, launch the Todo Backup tool to back up data on the computer.

2. What is the best way to back up to an external hard drive?

Using professional backup software, like Todo Backup, is the best way to back up an external hard drive. It can help you automatically and regularly back up your external drive. Moreover, it enables you to back up external disk to the cloud and NAS.

Does unmounting an external hard drive delete everything?

If the hard drive is removed from the computer, you will not be able to view any data on it from that computer. The information may still be present on the hard drive and could be reconnected to another computer or a portable hard drive enclosure for data recovery or unauthorized access.