How to Automatically Sync Local Drive to OneDrive: 2 Ways

Want to sync local drive to OneDrive? This page lists 2 ways to auto synchronize local disks with OneDrive with ease.

By @Jonna Last Updated October 8, 2024

How Do I Add Local Drive to OneDrive?

 

I want my local drives (C drive and D Drive) to be synced to OneDrive because most of my important files and photos are stored on them. I am finding a way to automatically sync local drive to OneDrive, so I don't have to update it manually. Do you guys have any ideas?

OneDrive is a file synchronization tool and hosting service from Microsoft that allows you to store files in the cloud and sync data to your computer for local access. Usually, OneDrive only allows you to sync Desktop, Documents, and Pictures to the cloud. How to sync whole drive to OneDrive?

There are two ways for you to let OneDrive sync local drives. One is using the OneDrive desktop app, and the other is with the help of professional file sync freeware. Let’s get down to business.

How to Set up OneDrive for Syncing Local Drive

When you run the OneDrive desktop app on your computer, you could add OneDrive to File Explorer and upload data to the cloud via dragging and dropping data to the OneDrive sync folder. How to sync local drive with OneDrive? You can follow the instructions below.

Note: If the OneDrive app is already installed on your computer (Windows 11/10/8.1), search it in the Windows search box to launch it directly. If not, please download and install the OneDrive desktop application on the computer.

Step 1. Run OneDrive on your computer and enter your Microsoft account to sign in.

Step 2. On the next screen, OneDrive will remind you where the OneDrive sync folder is located. If you don’t accept the default folder location, click Change location to change OneDrive sync location to a specified path. Then, click Next.

Step 3. Tap on Open my OneDrive folder to open the sync folder. Then, you can drag and drop files and folders from your local hard drive to this folder to upload data to the cloud.

Although it seems simple, syncing local drive to OneDrive with the OneDrive folder has limitations. You can only sync the default user folder with OneDrive automatically. If you want to synchronize local folder with OneDrive in other locations, it would be repetitive and tedious to drag and drop data.

Easier Way to Automatically Sync Local Drive to OneDrive

How to sync local drive to OneDrive without dragging and dropping manually? You can rely on the Sync feature of CBackup. As a free cloud backup tool, CBackup can help you sync files, folders, hard drives, and even a whole computer to OneDrive for free. For example, you could sync C drive to OneDrive with one click.

You can perform OneDribe schedule sync on One time only, Daily, Weekly, and Monthly to ensure data security by saving data to the cloud automatically. In addition to local drive, this tool also supports you to sync external hard drive to OneDrive.

If you want to know how to sync a drive to OneDrive using CBackup? Download CBackup on your computer and go with the guide below.

Download CBackupWin 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download

Step 1. Sign up for a CBackup account and run the CBackup desktop app to log in.

Step 2. Click Storage on the left side, choose OneDrive, and hit Authorize Now to authorize CBackup to access and manage your OneDrive storage.

β˜…Tip:
CBackup provides to sync hard drive to Google Drive, Dropbox, and more public clouds. You can click Storage > + Add Cloud to connect all your clouds to this tool and upload data to them with ease.

Step 3. Then, turn to Sync and choose Sync PC to Public Cloud.

Step 4. Choose the hard drives that need to be synchronized. Then, select a folder in OneDrive to save and retain the synced data.

Step 5. Click Settings and set scheduled sync in the Scheduler tab. Now, click Start Sync to sync hard drive to OneDrive automatically.

Sync vs. Backup: How to Use OneDrive as a Local Drive Backup Utility

OneDrive is a file synchronization tool, which is used to ensure that two or more locations contain the same up-to-date files. It is not a data backup utility. That is to say, when you add, change, or delete files on a local drive, the synchronization process will add, change, or delete the corresponding files in the OneDrive cloud.

If you want to protect your computer data, it is better to use OneDrive for backup only to prevent accidental deletion or corruption. With CBackup, you will back up your Windows data securely and fast, and restore data backups easily and quickly whenever you need them.

Step 1. Launch the CBackup client and log in.

Step 2. If you have not linked a OneDrive account to CBackup, add your cloud drive to CBackup by clicking Storage > + Add Cloud.

Step 3. Select Backup in the left menu and choose Backup PC to Public Cloud.

Step 4. Choose the hard drives you want to back up, and pick OneDrive as the backup destination. Finally, tap on Start Backup to begin the hard drive backup process.

❀❀Other features of CBackup
Backup files to CBackup Cloud - CBackup Cloud offers 5GB of free backup space and allows you to get up to 5TB of storage space at a pretty low price.
Migrate data between clouds - You can transfer files from one OneDrive account to another or migrate OneDrive to Google Drive/Dropbox easily.
Combine clouds to increase storage space - You can combine multiple OneDrive accounts to expand your cloud storage for free.

Final Words

That’s all about how to sync local drive to OneDrive. If you want to automatically synchronize local drives with OneDrive, CBackup is the best solution. This wizard enables you to sync C drive, D drive, other local drives, and external disks with OneDrive, Google Drive, and other clouds with ease.

Besides, its PC backup, cloud to cloud backup, and cloud storage combination features can meet your various data backup needs.