4 Ways to Backup Your Hard Drive to Cloud

From family photos to important documents, hard drives are filled with data that one can’t afford to lose. Unfortunately, these storage devices can fail or become corrupted easily, revoking your access to valuable files and folders.

The good news is that several cloud backup solutions allow storing data securely off-site, so you can easily retrieve it. In this article, we will discuss 4 ways to back up your hard drive data to the cloud. So let’s get started.

Why Do You Need to Backup Your Hard Drive to the Cloud?

Although hard drives are reliable in terms of keeping the data safe, it's still recommended to have a safer solution. And nothing could be better than virtual cloud storage in this scenario. Let's briefly overview why you need to backup your hard drive to cloud storage.

Slight damage to the hardware due to malware, device failure, or fire can put your data at risk. Even accidental deletion is common, leading to organizations losing files without any means to recover them.

External hard drives restrict data sharing across multiple devices, and carrying them is difficult. On the other hand, cloud solutions allow easy sharing, and you can limit access to specific employees only.

Cloud solutions protect your data with a double layer of security thanks to end-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication.

It even sets automatic backups, so you no longer have to worry about losing your data.

Ways of Backing up Hard Drive to the Cloud

Here are some easy ways to backup your hard drive data to the cloud:

Cloud Storage Service

Cloud storage services are common in today’s digital age for features like scheduled data backup, enhanced accessibility, exceptional file-sharing attributes, etc. But what most users are unaware of is that cloud storage solutions can even backup hard drive data.

While there are several options, we will discuss how to do so on Google Drive.

Connect the external drive on your computer or laptop and prepare the data you want to back up on the cloud.
Launch Google Drive and create a new folder where you want to back up your local data.
Drag the files from the hard drive and drop them into the folder you created in the previous step. Another way is to browse and upload the folders directly to the cloud server.

Cloud Backup Service

Another method of backing up physical databases to a secondary, virtual location is via cloud backup. A third-party provider or SaaS hosts cloud backup services and may charge a recurring fee based on several factors, like the number of users and servers.

Here is how you can use it conveniently to back up your hard drive data.

First, choose a cloud backup service that aligns with your needs and budget.
The next step is to create an account on your chosen service and install its sync software on your computer.
Connect the hard drive to your computer and select all the stored files to start the backup. This step can vary based on the service provider, but you can choose the hard drive files and folders from the software’s settings.
Set up the backup frequency according to your requirements. You can adjust it to daily, weekly, or monthly.
Once done, the files on the hard drive will start to back up. This process may take time, depending on the data's size.

Hybrid Backup Solution

As evident from its name, the hybrid backup solution combines local and remote data storage. Although uncommon, several organizations leverage it to keep their data safe in 2 locations, i.e., an external device and a public cloud.

The steps to backup your files using this technology are straightforward and similar to the above-mentioned methods.

The first step is to choose a hybrid backup solution from several available options. A few common examples include Backblaze, Carbonite, and IDrive.
Install the software on your device and set it up by following the on-screen instructions.
Select the files and folders you want to back up. Next, choose the backup destination for those files from an external hard drive or cloud.
Now configure the backup settings to proceed. In this step, you can adjust the backup frequency and retention policy for old backups.
Finally, start the backup and wait for it to complete. Don’t forget to recheck that all your desired files have been successfully backed up.

Cloud Sync Software

This software allows you to keep your files in sync between a local device and a cloud storage service. For example, if you make any changes to the files on your hard drive, that data will be automatically updated in the cloud.

Here’s how you can use this software to backup hard drive data on the cloud seamlessly.

Simply configure the cloud syncing software on your computer.
Now select files from the hard drive to sync. You can do this for specific/ all folders.
The sync software will handle the rest and automatically update the data onto the cloud server if you make any changes to that stored on the hard drive.

Wrap Up

Using the methods outlined in this article, you don’t have to worry about losing data to hardware failure. All 4 methods are highly convenient and ensure easy backup, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Don’t wait for a disaster to happen with no recovery options. Instead, implement one of the backup strategies discussed above and keep your valuable data secure.