Best Way to Backup PC to Cloud in Windows 10 or 11 (FREE)
- Why Backup PC to Cloud?
- Which Cloud Drive Is Suitable for You?
- Best Free Software to Backup Computer to Cloud
- How to Backup PC to Cloud in Windows 10 or 11 Automatically
- Conclusion
Why Backup PC to Cloud?
With numerous cloud drives available, such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, and Amazon Cloud Drive, you can easily store data online and create a PC cloud backup. This allows you to access your files from anywhere, and in case of a computer failure or loss, you can restore your data from the cloud. The benefits of backing up your computer to the cloud include having a secure and off-site copy of your files, being able to access your data from any device, and having peace of mind knowing your files are safe.
- Reduce Cost: For personal use, a low disk space error on your Windows computer can be resolved without buying an external storage device, making it an affordable solution for business use, especially when dealing with large data storage needs.
- Easy to Access: Cloud-stored files are easily accessible from anywhere, whereas Windows computer data is harder to access from another device unless shared on the same LAN.
- Multiple Guarantees: An offsite backup solution ensures your data remains safe even if your computer is damaged. With this solution, you can restore your data from the cloud to a new location, preventing loss of important files.
- After setting a backup, it will automatically and continuously backup data to the cloud whenever you're connected to the Internet.
Before creating a PC cloud backup, selecting a suitable cloud drive is crucial. This involves choosing a cloud storage service that meets your needs, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft OneDrive, and considering factors like storage capacity, security, and accessibility.
Which Cloud Drive Is Suitable for You?
We'll compare the most popular cloud drives, including their prices and storage capacities, in a comprehensive chart. This comparison will help you make an informed decision about which cloud drive best suits your needs.
For personal cloud storage, consider Google Drive for Desktop (Google One) if you want more free storage space, or Dropbox for efficient storage with a budget-friendly cost.
|
Cloud Drive |
Personal Use |
|
|
Price |
Cloud Storage | |
|
Google Drive |
Free |
15 GB |
|
$19.99/Year |
100 GB | |
|
$29.99/Year |
200 GB | |
|
$99.99/Year |
2 TB | |
|
$1199.88/Year |
120 TB | |
|
$2399.88/Year |
240 TB | |
|
$3599.88/Year |
360 TB | |
|
Microsoft OneDrive |
Free |
5 GB |
|
$23.88/Year |
1.2 TB | |
|
Dropbox |
Free |
2 GB |
|
$119.88/Year |
24TB | |
|
$198.96/Year |
36 TB | |
|
Box |
free |
10 GB |
|
$120.00/Year |
100 GB | |
|
Amazon S3 Standard |
free |
5 GB |
| $0.023 per GB | First 50TB | |
For business cloud storage, cloud drives offer more professional tools and services to manage business data, making a simple comparison of cloud storage space and price one-sided. Instead, consider your specific demands when choosing between them.
|
Cloud Drive |
Business Use |
|
|
Price |
Cloud Storage | |
|
Google Drive |
$6.00/month |
30 GB, 1 user |
|
$12.00/month |
unlimited cloud storage/1 TB, 1 user (1 TB per user if fewer than 5 users) |
|
|
Microsoft OneDrive |
$5.00/month |
1 TB, 1 user |
|
$10.00/month |
Unlimited cloud storage,1 user | |
|
Dropbox |
$12.5/month |
5 TB, 1 user |
|
$20.00/month |
Unlimited cloud storage,1 user | |
|
Box |
$5.00/month |
100 GB, 1 user |
|
$15.00/month |
Unlimited cloud storage,1 user | |
|
Amazon S3 Intelligent - Tiering |
$0.0025 per 1,000 objects | "Monitoring and automation services, including unlimited storage for objects larger than 128 KB, are provided on a monthly basis." |
| $0.023 per GB | Frequent Access Tier, First 50 TB / Month | |
To back up your PC to the cloud, first choose a suitable cloud drive, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive, and then use a free cloud backup software to complete the process.
Best Free Software to Backup Computer to Cloud
Cloud storage services like Google Backup and Sync, OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box Sync provide desktop apps to transfer files to online storage, but they do not backup the entire hard disk, partition structures, or critical Windows operating system data.
To backup PC to cloud drive like Google Drive, you need the best free Windows cloud backup software, Qiling Disk Master Standard. This software is designed for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11 (all editions, 32-bit and 64-bit) and allows you to backup any items with just a few clicks.
Complete backup solutions: This software allows for backing up files to Google Drive and other cloud drives, as well as backing up entire systems, disks, and partitions.
Schedule Backup: It allows automatic backup of files to a cloud drive, with customizable backup schedules, including daily, weekly, or monthly intervals, and specific date and time settings.
Incremental Backup: To save backup time and space, you can enable scheduled backup to only backup changed files in a backup task.
Diverse storage devices: The software supports backing up a PC to various cloud storage options, as well as external hard drives (HDD or SSD), USB drives, network drives, and NAS devices.
How to Backup PC to Cloud in Windows 10 or 11 Automatically
To backup your computer to the cloud successfully, make sure you have sufficient free space on your cloud drive to save the disk image, as it can be around 40GB or larger depending on your data size.
Before backing up your computer to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive, consider getting the free Windows cloud backup solution - Qiling Disk Master downloaded and installed, then use the program to backup efficiently. For server users, try Qiling Disk Master Server instead.
To backup your PC to the cloud easily and safely, you can follow these steps: simply connect your computer to the internet, go to Google Drive (or your preferred cloud storage service), and follow the prompts to set up a backup. This will allow you to automatically sync your important files to the cloud, ensuring they are safe and accessible from anywhere.
1. To backup your entire PC, go to the Backup tab and select Disk Backup.
Note: To backup Windows system files, try System Backup, which automatically selects all boot partitions and files, ensuring you don't miss any required for boot.
2. To add a disk, click the + Add Disk button, then select the current system disk as the source disk.
3. Select Google Drive folder as the destination to save all files from your computer, or choose desktop folder for other cloud drives.
Notes:
✍Google Drive folder is typically located in C:\Users\UserName\Google Drive (replace UserName with your actual user name).
✍OneDrive desktop folder is probably located in C:\Users\UserName\OneDrive.
✍Dropbox folder is located in C:\Users\UserName\Dropbox by default.
✍Box Sync folder located in C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Box Sync in general.
✍Apart from clouds, you can also save files to local storage devices such as local disk, external hard drives, USB drives, CDs, DVDs, or network-attached storage (NAS).
4. To set up a disk backup, click the "Schedule Backup" option and choose the frequency of the backup, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. By default, incremental backup is enabled, which means it will only save changes made since the last backup.
Tips:
✍Schedule Backup: You can still use premium features like Event triggers and USB plug in by upgrading to Qiling Disk Master Professional or other advanced editions, aside from basic settings.
✍Options: It allows you to edit the backup image, such as compressing, splitting, encrypting, and adding comments, and also enables notifications via email or SMS when the backup is complete.
✍Backup Scheme It helps manage hard disk storage space by scheduling a backup task that automatically deletes old backup images using selected cleanup methods, freeing up space and preventing backup disk full errors. It also allows setting a safer backup method, differential backup.
5. To automatically back up your PC to Google Drive, simply click "Proceed" to initiate the process, which will securely transfer your data to the cloud storage service.
Wait for a moment, the cost time depends on the data capacity of the source disk. Then you can go to your Google Drive folder and webpage and check if there is a backup image in it.
If you're willing to automatically back up your data to the cloud, you can try the file backup or sync feature. Real-time sync is the most comprehensive way to keep your data up-to-date.
Conclusion
Backing up your PC to a cloud drive is a straightforward process, as long as you find a reliable and free method. This can be achieved using a free backup software that supports scheduled backups, allowing you to protect your entire disk, partition, or specific files. Qiling Disk Master Standard is one such software that can help you achieve this.
The premium edition offers additional advanced features, including event triggers, USB plug-in functionality for automatic file copying, differential backup, and automatic backup cleanup, allowing for more efficient and flexible disk backup.
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