How to Backup OneDrive to External Hard Drive: 3 Easy Ways

Key Takeaways:

• How to backup OneDrive to local drive or copy OneDrive files to external hard drive? OneDrive files can be backed up manually via download or automatically using third-party software to ensure that your data is always preserved.
• Free backup software can automatically back up OneDrive to an external drive, and AOMEI Backupper Standard provides a quick solution. You want to back up/sync OneDrive to another cloud, try CBackup.
• Also, regularly monitor your OneDrive storage to avoid exceeding limits and consider organizing or deleting unnecessary files to keep your backups efficient.

Can you backup OneDrive to external hard drive?

Although OneDrive is a popular cloud-based online storage platform, it is well known that files saved on OneDrive or any similar platform are at great risk. To be on the safe side, some users choose to backup OneDrive to external hard drive. In fact, in addition to protecting the data, moving OneDrive files to an external hard drive can help free up space when your OneDrive storage space is running out. Here is a typical case about backup OneDrive to external hard drive from Reddit:

"I’m concerned because I previously lost access to OneDrive files and couldn’t open or preview them. Some files have a blue cloud icon in OneDrive, and when I click, it turns into a green check mark. Does that mean the file is downloaded to my PC? How can I make all files turn green at once without clicking each one?"

Don' worry and you're in the right place. There are three ways to help you create OneDrive local backup in external drive, which we will detail for you in the following sections.

3 ways to backup OneDrive to external hard drive easily

How can I backup OneDrive cloud to external hard drive? You can backup your OneDrive files to external hard drive with the OneDrive website, OneDrive sync client, and professional backup software:

• 1️⃣In the case of a small number of files to backup, we recommend you use the OneDrive website or desktop app.
• 2️⃣With a large number of files or folders, try AOMEI Backupper, a professional file backup tool, which is a better choice for high efficiency. 
• 3️⃣If you want to expand your cloud drive storage, you can try CBackup to organize multiple different cloud drive spaces and get more memory. Also, you can use this tool to quickly backup/sync OneDrive to another cloud.

Let's begin with the easiest way to move files from one drive to hard drive. 

Method 1. Automatic backup OneDrive to external drive via free backup software

If you want to perform a large number of file backups from OneDrive to an external hard drive or enable automatic backup of files, AOMEI Backupper Standard is what you want.

This software not only allows you to automatically or instantly back up files and folders from OneDrive to an external hard drive but also helps you sync OneDrive to Snology, and other locations with ease. And there are different file backup methods such as incremental backups and differential backups. The following is the detailed operation flow about how to automatically backup OneDrive to external hard drive.

Preparations you can make before getting OneDrive backup to your external hard drive with AOMEI Backupper:

Install and run the OneDrive desktop app on your computer.

Connect the external hard drive you want to save OneDrive files to your PC.

Step 1. Download and run AOMEI Backupper Standard.

Step 2. Choose Sync on the left panel and click Basic Sync.

Step 3. Hit Add folder to locate the OneDrive folder and select what you want to backup.

4. Tap on the destination select box and select the externally connected hard drive. After that, press Start Sync and wait for the task to complete.

Method 2. Manual download and Backup with OneDrive website

Transferring files from OneDrive to an external hard drive with this method is to use the web-based OneDrive interface to download your OneDrive files and transfer them to your external drive. But it is important to note that there is a risk of data loss and corruption when exporting large files and it may take a long time to get files downloaded.

Step 1. Navigate to the OneDrive website and log in with your account.

Step 2. In the My files tab, select the files or folders you want to backup and click Download.

Step 3. After the download is complete, you can move them to your connected external hard disk easily.

Click the three-vertical button and select Settings. Click on Advanced > Downloads on the left menu, and tap Change to set your external drive as the target location.

Method 3. Transfer using OneDrive desktop client

You can use the OneDrive desktop application to backup OneDrive folders to an external drive as well, which is one of the best ways to backup OneDrive. The prerequisite is that you need to download and install the OneDrive backup software on your computer. Then please run it and follow the given steps below to complete the file transfer process.

Step 1. Connect your external disk to your device. Then, go to the OneDrive folder on File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).

Step 2. Backing up OneDrive files to the external drive by copying files from the OneDrive folder and pasting them to the external drive.

Tip: Easiest way to backup/sync OneDrive to another cloud

We all know that data backup is important. What if you want to backup OneDrive as well, but there is no external hard drive available? Don't worry, you can backup OneDrive to other cloud drives for data protection.

Using CBackup to backup OneDrive to other clouds, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, FTP/SFTP, etc. is a piece of cake. CBackup is a professional yet free cloud backup tool. It allows you to backup files to OneDrive as well as migrate OneDrive folders and files to other clouds without downloading and uploading.

Because the backup steps are similar, let's transfer files from OneDrive to Google Drive as an example to show you the detailed steps.

Step 1. Get started with downloading and launching CBackup on your computer. Then, apply for a CBackup account for free.

Step 2. Sign in to the CBackup app. Head to the Storage section, and select OneDrive to click Authorize Now. Then, you need to complete the authorization to allow CBackup to access your storage space.

Step 3. Click Backup, click on Backup Public Cloud to Public Cloud to create a backup task.

Step 4. Pick the whole OneDrive drive or certain OneDrive files, then choose Google Drive.

Step 5. Press Start Backup to backup OneDrive data to other clouds easily.

Summary

File backup tools are necessary if you want to backup OneDrive to an external hard drive as easily as possible. They can help you to back up a considerable amount of files at once and their scheduled features can assist you to avoid forgetting to backup your data.

If you are looking for other ways to backup OneDrive data, migrating OneDrive data to another cloud is also a good option. In this way, you can have an additional copy of your data on another cloud drive and access or share it whenever you want, which is very convenient.

FAQs About How to Backup OneDrive to External Hard Drive

1. How do I download all my OneDrive files to my external hard drive?

Open OneDrive in your browser or app, select all files, click Download, then move them to your external drive. You can also change the OneDrive folder location to your external drive via the app settings.

2. How to backup Office 365 to an external hard drive?

Download OneDrive files manually or export Outlook emails to a PST file and move them to your external drive. You can also use third-party backup tools to automate the process.

3. Why does OneDrive say I don’t have enough space?

You've likely exceeded your storage quota. Delete files or upgrade your plan to free up space. Large files or syncing issues might also cause this.