photo organizing co

How to back up your photos on a Windows PC

Updated

The most dependable way to back up photos on a Windows PC is to keep a copy on an external drive. You can do it by hand in a few minutes, or let File History do it on a schedule. OneDrive can also hold your Pictures folder, but it works differently from a backup, and this guide explains how.

Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. The steps below are written for Windows 11, and the Windows 10 menus are close to the same. If you’re still on Windows 10, it no longer gets security updates, which is a good reason to move your photos somewhere safe.

Before you start

  • You need an external drive with more free space than your photos take up. Right-click your Pictures folder and choose Properties to see its size.
  • Plug the drive in and make sure it appears in File Explorer.
  • Some photos may be cloud-only in OneDrive (a blue cloud icon). Those aren’t on the PC yet. See how to find all the photos on your computer.

Option 1: copy to an external drive

  1. Plug in the drive and open File Explorer.
  2. Click Pictures in the left-hand list. Open any other folders where you keep photos.
  3. Select the folders you want and press Ctrl-C.
  4. Click your external drive in the left-hand list, make a new folder named with today’s date, open it and press Ctrl-V.
  5. Wait for the copy to finish. If Windows shows a Replace or Skip Files box, choose Skip these files so nothing on the drive is replaced.
  6. Right-click the drive in File Explorer and choose Eject before you unplug it.

This is a copy, so the originals stay where they are. It only protects you up to the day you made it, though. New photos after that aren’t included.

Option 2: File History

File History saves copies of your files to an external drive as you go. In Windows 11 it still exists, but it lives in the old Control Panel, not in Settings.

  1. Connect your external drive.
  2. Open Control Panel, then under System and Security, open Save backup copies of your files with File History.
  3. Select Turn on. To use a different drive, choose Select drive, pick it and select OK.

Microsoft says File History backs up your libraries, which include Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music, plus the Desktop. A folder outside those can be added: right-click it, choose Show more options, then Include in library.

The drive has to stay connected. If it’s been unplugged, plug it back in and choose Run now in the File History window.

Option 3: Windows Backup and OneDrive

Windows 11 also has an app called Windows Backup. It’s easy to mix up with File History, but they do different jobs.

Open Settings > Accounts > Windows backup. You can switch on folders for Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music. Microsoft says these folders sync to OneDrive. The app can also remember your installed apps, your settings and your Wi-Fi details.

So Windows Backup for your Pictures folder is OneDrive. It doesn’t make a copy on an external drive.

Sync is not the same as a second copy

OneDrive folder backup keeps the folder on your PC matched with the one online. Microsoft’s own page uses the words “sync” and “backup” together, and they mean this match-up. If you delete a photo from the folder on your PC, it’s deleted from OneDrive too. OneDrive has a recycle bin, but don’t count on it.

You can also manage this from OneDrive directly. Click the cloud icon near the clock, then the Help & Settings icon, choose Settings, open Sync and backup and select Manage backup.

A free Microsoft account comes with 5 GB of OneDrive storage, which a photo collection can fill quickly. Paid plans give more.

The 3-2-1 idea, in plain words

  • Three copies of anything you can’t replace. The original plus two more.
  • Two kinds of storage. For example, the PC’s drive and an external drive.
  • One copy somewhere else, away from your home. A drive at a relative’s house works, and so does a cloud account.

For most people: photos on the PC (copy one), an external drive or File History (copy two), and OneDrive or a second drive kept off-site (copy three).

Check that the backup holds your photos

  1. Open the external drive in File Explorer and look at the folders. Open a few photos from different years.
  2. Compare sizes. Right-click your original Pictures folder and choose Properties, then do the same for the backup folder. The numbers should be close.
  3. For File History, open it in Control Panel and make sure it says it’s on and shows a recent copy time.
  4. For OneDrive, go to onedrive.com and look in Pictures. Make sure the photos are there, not just the folder.

If you’re a Photo Organizing Co client

You don’t need a backup before we start. Please don’t delete or move anything on the PC, or turn off OneDrive, until the finished library is on your drive and you’ve looked through it. If you have an external drive or File History set up, tell me, and keep it somewhere safe. I work from copies and leave your originals alone. Old drives are covered in photos from an old hard drive.

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