How to Back Up Data on a Dell computer

Affected Operating Systms

• Windows 10
• Windows 11

Backing up data regularly is an important part of computer maintenance. Online or 'cloud' storage services such as OneDrive simplify data backup for productivity tasks, but for media, sensitive information, and other large data a formal backup solution may be required. See the options below for more information and to choose a backup solution that is right for you.

File History

File History is an application that is integrated into Windows 11 and Windows 10 that allows you to back up files from your computer. The backup can be stored on an external hard drive or on a storage device on a network.

Users with high-density content types should consider regular backups to an external source:

• Music
• Videos
• Large photo libraries

For information about Windows 10 File History and how to schedule regular backups, reference Microsoft's Backup and Restore in Windows 10 page.

OneDrive

Microsoft provides OneDrive as a free-of-charge cloud storage solution for up to 5 GB of data, with subscription options up to 1 TB of data.

Users with these smaller content types should consider cloud storage:

• Word and other Office-like productivity documents
• Scanned documents (receipts, images, so on)
• Content regularly stored in the My Documents folder in Windows.

For information about getting started with OneDrive, see Microsoft's Back up your Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders with OneDrive page.