When you use a PC, you must go far a point to create actress copies of your documents and photos somewhere outside your estimator's internal storage. That insulates you from potential data losses caused by sudden hardware failures, organization crashes, and malware attacks.

Only local backups aside, it'southward also best to upload your files online. Non but does that offer additional protection against unexpected events such as fires and theft, but you get to access the data on any device with an agile internet connectedness.

Google Drive and OneDrive are 2 popular cloud storage services that can help you backup files to the cloud. The instructions below should help you figure out how to set up each service to safeguard the information on your figurer.

Automatically Fill-in Files to Google Drive

Google Drive allows yous to back upward and sync files on your PC with its Backup and Sync customer for Windows. To avoid whatever confusion, here'due south how the  "Backup" and "Sync" elements work:

  • Fill-in: Continuously backs upward folders to the Computers section in Google Drive. You can't sync them to other devices.
  • Sync: Creates a special directory on your computer and syncs files and folders to and from the My Drive section in Google Drive. You can besides sync them with other desktop devices.

If you have a Google Account, you lot tin can immediately install and use Fill-in and Sync on your computer. If not, you must create a Google Account. You become 15GB of gratuitous storage to start with. Paid plans include 100GB for $ane.99/month, 200GB for $2.99/calendar month, and 2TB for $ix.99/calendar month.

1. Download the Backup and Sync installer from Google. Then, run it on your PC to install the Backup and Sync client.

Once the Welcome to Fill-in and Sync screen shows upwards, select Get Started and insert your Google Business relationship credentials to sign into Fill-in and Sync.

2. The My Laptop or My Figurer screen that shows up allows yous to specify the folders you desire to backup to Google Drive.

By default, Backup and Sync displays 3 folders on your PC—Desktop, Documents, and Pictures. You lot tin can pick additional folders by selecting Cull Folder.

If you pick the Pictures folder, you must select your photograph upload preferences—High quality or Original quality. The one-time compresses photos and videos to the 16MP and 1080p resolutions, respectively, while the latter uploads them at full quality.

If you want to back up your photos and videos separately to Google Photos, check the box next to Upload photos and videos to Google Photos.

Note: Photograph and video uploads uploaded in compressed quality don't count toward your Google Drive storage quota until June 1st, 2021.

3. Select Adjacent to proceed.

iv. Pick the Sync everything in My Bulldoze option to sync all files and folders from  Google Bulldoze's My Drive section to local storage. Or, select Sync but these folders to sync select folders merely.

5. Select Get-go to finish setting upwards the Backup and Sync customer.

Folders that you lot've chosen to dorsum up to Google Drive should start uploading immediately. Head over to Google Bulldoze in your web browser and select the Computers tab to admission the online copies of each binder past device.

Additionally, you should find a location labeled Google Drive within the sidebar in File Explorer. It should contain files and folders from My Drive that y'all've opted to sync locally. Folders that you copy to or create within information technology volition upload to My Drive in the Google Drive web app, as well as to other devices that you've prepare using Backup and Sync.

If yous want to change how the Fill-in and Sync client functions on your PC subsequently on, select the Fill-in and Sync from Google icon on the system tray and go to Settings > Preferences.

How to Support Files Using OneDrive

OneDrive comes pre-installed with Windows. Provided that you've signed into your PC with a Microsoft Account, you should be ready to start using it.

In addition to syncing your files online, OneDrive as well allows you to dorsum up your almost important directories—Desktop, Documents, and Pictures—to the deject. But here are a couple of things to be aware of:

  • OneDrive moves the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to its sync directory should y'all choose to back them upwardly.
  • Different Google Drive, Microsoft'southward cloud storage service doesn't feature the pick to dorsum up additional folders on your PC. You lot tin can get effectually this limitation with symlinks (more on that below).

OneDrive provides 5GB of free storage. Paid storage plans include 100GB at $1.99/month and 1TB at $6.99/month. The latter option as well nets you lot an Office 365 subscription.

one. Select the OneDrive icon on the arrangement tray and go to Help & Settings > Settings.

2. Switch to the Fill-in tab and select Manage fill-in.

three. Pick the folders you desire to back up—Desktop, Documents, and Pictures.

4. Select Offset backup.

5. Select OK once more to save your changes.

If y'all want to back up/sync other folders on your PC to OneDrive, you must use symbolic links.

A symlink consists of a folder shortcut that points to a directory in another location. Creating a symlink in OneDrive prompts the deject storage service to sync the files within the target directory.

To create a symlink in OneDrive, open an elevated Control Prompt panel (type cmd into the Start card and select Run as ambassador). Then, enter and execute the following command later modifying the two file paths inside it as needed:

mklink /J "C:\Users\username\OneDrive\Music" "C:\Users\username\Music"

Note: The first path instructs the Command Prompt console to create a shortcut binder (named Music) within the OneDrive directory. The second path contains the directory that the symlink should point at (in this example, to the Music binder in Windows 10). You lot tin also create symlinks on Mac also.

Symlinks aren't a perfect solution. If OneDrive runs into problem syncing them, your merely culling is to move the target folders to the central OneDrive sync location itself. Y'all tin can find this within the File Explorer sidebar.

Google Bulldoze vs. OneDrive: Make Your Selection

Google Drive edges out OneDrive with its power to upload folders from any location on your computer. Information technology draws a clear line between bankroll upward and syncing information, and that makes information technology a very versatile cloud storage solution.

Only if yous simply prefer protecting the most important directories on your PC, and then you lot shouldn't shy away from OneDrive. Information technology's also native to Windows and the superior choice from a technical standpoint.