How to Backup Your Hard Drive to Google Drive in 2 Ways – A Complete Guide

Why back up your hard drive to Google Drive?

For some reason, hard disk drives are much cheaper than SSDs, but people still opt for them, given their capacity and availability. However, one cannot deny that they have a major downside: they tend to break, slow down, and eventually fail with time. This issue has been addressed with the advent of cloud-backup services like Google Drive.

As one of the major cloud storage services globally, Google Drive has gained popularity among many users. Hence, those who store their data on external hard drives might wonder if they can back up a hard drive to the cloud, such as Google Drive. The answer is yes, and there are more advantages to backing up data to the cloud than other types of backups. Here are some benefits:

• Data protection: Transferring hard drive data to Google Drive safeguards it from loss due to disk errors or hardware failure.
• Easy access: Users can access their files from any device with an internet connection, anywhere in the world.
• Simplified sharing: Users can easily share files with teams or groups of people.
• Ample storage: Google Drive provides enough space to back up multiple hard drives' worth of data.

How to Back Up Your Hard Drive to Google Drive in 2 Ways Two Methods to Back Up Your Hard Drive to Google Drive

Suppose you want to back up your hard drive to Google but don't know how. We offer you two straightforward methods to move data from your hard drive to Google Drive. One is by using Google Drive desktop, and the other is with a third-party tool - Todo Backup. However, these tools operate differently.

As for Google Drive, it can sync files and folders from your hard drive to Google's servers, but only those you choose. However, third-party software can create a full backup of the entire disk, which is much faster. Plus, it saves the files on the HDD as an image. Whenever you need them, you'll have to restore the image file.

• Method 1: Back up hard drive with third-party Google Drive backup software - Automated backup
• Method 2: Back up hard drive using Google Drive for Desktop - Manual backup

Given the variety and simplicity of backups, I recommend using Todo Backup as the best way to go about it. You can proceed with the transfer by reading on.

Method 1️⃣: Backing Up Your Hard Drive Automatically with a Third-Party Google Drive Backup Tool

Todo Backup is a free backup software that allows you to back up your files, system, and hard drive to either locally or to the cloud. It supports various cloud backup destinations, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. You can follow a guide to back up your hard drive to Google Drive.

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 choose to back up the entire disk or a specific partition. Select your choice and 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 completed, your tasks will be displayed on the left. Right-click on any task to manage your backups further – for example, to restore a backup or create an incremental backup.

Related reading: How to Backup Google Drive to External Hard Drive | How to Backup Google Photos to Hard Drive

Method 2: Manually Back Up Your Hard Drive with Google Drive Desktop

In addition to the best backup methods offered by third-party tools, you can also use the official backup tool provided by Google.

Google Drive has an official website that lets you back up your files to the cloud and quickly access files saved on Google Drive, but the desktop version is more feature-rich. The main difference is that Drive for Desktop is better for organizations because it can stream files from "Shared Drives" and "My Drive" from the cloud. It frees up disk space, reduces the time it takes to sync files, and simplifies uploading and downloading. To help you back up and sync your files to Google Drive more easily, download Google Drive to your desktop and follow the steps.

Step 1: Download and install the Google Drive desktop app on your computer.

Step 2: Sign in to your Google Account.

Step 3: In the “My Computer” screen, click Add folder. The app will prompt you to choose which folders to back up. Confirm by clicking Sync with Google Drive.

Add and synchronize the folder

Step 4: Click Save to start the sync. Any subsequent changes will sync automatically.

Click Save.

You may also be interested in: How to Backup USB to Google Drive

Wrap-up tasks

Backing up your hard drive to Google Drive is a convenient way to access your data, and it keeps your information safe. Both of these methods will save the contents of your hard drive to Google Drive.

According to the 3-2-1 backup rule, it's not advisable to keep all data copies on one platform. Therefore, the Todo Backup tool offers multiple backup destinations to help us back up data more efficiently, quickly, and securely. Additionally, it allows you to transfer files from Google Drive to Dropbox or OneDrive. Don't hesitate; download it now and enjoy these benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Backup Hard Drive to Google Drive

1. What's the difference between Google Drive and Backup and Sync?

They serve the same purpose: to provide users with an easier way to sync their files. While Backup and Sync is primarily used to locally sync and store Drive on your computer, Drive for Desktop streams all of your content from the cloud.

2. Where is Google Drive stored?

Files you add to the Google Drive app or folder are stored on secure data center servers. Your data is encrypted while it's being transferred from your computer and while it's stored on Google Drive servers.

Question 3: Why did Google remove Backup and Sync?

This change is happening because the new app is essentially a unified sync client for businesses, education, and individual users. You'll need to switch to Drive for Desktop.