4 Ways to Backup PC Computer to Cloud in Win 10/11 (FREE)

Why Backup Computer to Cloud?

Nowadays, there are many cloud drives available for you to store data online and help you create PC cloud backup, including Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Amazon Cloud Drive, and other clouds. Why backup the computer to the cloud? The following reasons could be one of yours:

• Reduce Cost: for personal use, your hard disk in Windows 7/8/10/11 shows low disk space error, and don’t intend to pay for another relatively expensive external storage device to save files. It’s affordable for business use especially where a large amount of data should be saved.

• Easy to Access: the files stored in the cloud are easy to access anytime and anywhere while the data in the Windows computer is kind of difficult to access from another device unless shared it on the same LAN.

• Multiple Guarantees: the offsite backup solution safeguards your data, even if your computer is damaged somehow, you could restore data from the cloud to a new location to make it safe, and you will not lose it.

• Automatic Backup: after you set 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, choosing a suitable cloud drive is very important for you.

Which Cloud Drive Is Suitable for You?

Let's take a look at the popular cloud storage options and compare their prices and storage capacities. Here are the comparison charts:

When it comes to personal cloud storage, Google Drive for Desktop (Google One) offers generous free storage space, making it a great option. On the other hand, if you need a large amount of storage at an affordable price, Dropbox might be the better choice for you.

When it comes to business cloud storage, these platforms offer a range of professional tools and services to manage your business data effectively. Simply comparing their storage space and price might be too one-sided. It's important to consider your specific business needs before making a decision.

After choosing the suitable cloud drives, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc., then a free cloud backup software is required if you want the best way to backup your PC to cloud drives.

4 Ways to Backup Computer to the Cloud

Backing up your files to the cloud is usually cheaper than traditional methods, and you don't need fancy equipment or software. It's simple too - you can set up automatic backups with just a few clicks. Here's how to do it:

Method 1: How to Backup PC Computer to Cloud in Win 10/11 Automatically

Almost all cloud storage provides you with desktop apps, such as Google, OneDrive, Dropbox desktop app, or Box Sync, to transfer files to online cloud storage, they cannot backup the entire hard disk, partition structures, and other critical data for the Windows operating system.

In this case, you need the best free Windows cloud backup software- AOMEI Backupper Standard to backup your PC to a cloud drive like Google Drive. It’s designed for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11 (all editions, 32-bit and 64-bit) and you can back up any items with a few clicks. Below are some useful features:

✍ Complete backup solutions: This software not only supports backup files to Google Drive or other cloud drives, but also backup system, disk, and partition.
✍ Schedule Backup: It allows you to backup files to a cloud drive automatically, and you can run it daily, weekly, or monthly. More precisely, you can set backup dates, times, and intervals.
✍ Incremental Backup: It is to backup only changed files in a backup task to save backup time and space once you enable scheduled backup.
✍ Diverse storage devices: Not only does it support backup PC computers to different cloud drives but also to external hard drives (HDD or SSD), USB drives, network drives,s or NAS.

Before backing up the computer to the cloud, please get the free Windows cloud backup solution - AOMEI Backupper downloaded, then perform the program after installing it to backup efficiently. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server!

Now, let’s have a look at how to backup PC computer to the cloud easily and safely with the following steps (take the backup computer to Google Drive for example):

1. Please go to the Backup tab, and then choose Disk Backup to back up the entire PC. 

Note: If you prefer to backup Windows system files, please try System Backup. It will choose all the boot partitions and files automatically, so you don't need to worry about missing any files required for boot.

2. Click + Add Disk to choose the current system disk as the source disk.

3. Choose the Google Drive folder as the destination to save all files from your computer. You can also select a desktop folder for other cloud drives. 

Notes:
✍Google Drive folder is typically located in C:\Users\UserName\Google Drive (replace the UserName with your current user name, the following is the same).
✍ The 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 could select one of the following devices as a destination: local disk, external hard drives (HDD/SSD), USB flash drive, CD/DVD, NAS, etc.

4. Click the Schedule Backup option to set the disk backup to run daily, weekly, or monthly. Meanwhile, incremental backup is enabled by default, it will backup only changes since the last backup. 

Tips:
✍Schedule Backup: Except for basic settings, you still can use premium features (eg: Event triggers, and USB plug-in) if you upgrade to AOMEI Backupper Professional or other advanced editions.
✍Options: It enables you to modify the backup image, like compress, split, encrypt, and comment on the backup image file, and even enable email or SMS notification to get an alert once the backup is finished.
✍Backup Scheme (advanced version): It helps you manage your hard disk storage space in a scheduled backup task, which will delete old backup images automatically with selected cleanup methods to free up space and avoid backup disk full error. And you can set a safer backup method - differential backup here as well.

5. Press Start Backup >> to perform an automatic backup PC to Google Drive easily and safely.

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 are willing to backup data to the cloud automatically, please try the file backup or sync feature. Among them, real-time sync is the most complete way to keep data up-to-date.

Method 2: Backup Computer to Cloud: Google Drive Manually

With Google Drive, you get 15GB of free space when you sign up, which is usually enough for everyday needs. If you want to back up your computer to Google Drive, check out this following instruction:

Step 1: Log in to your Google Drive account in your web browser.
Step 2: Click on the "New" button at the top left corner to upload files or folders from your laptop. You can also simply drag and drop the files or folder onto the Google Drive interface.

Method 3: Backup PC to Cloud: Dropbox Manually

Some of you might be wondering, "How can I back up my computer to the cloud, like Dropbox?" Well, Dropbox is known for its online collaboration features. In this section, we'll guide you through the step-by-step process of backing up your PC files to Dropbox. You can easily do this using the Dropbox website. Let's dive into the details:

Step 1: Sign in to your Dropbox account on the web.
Step 2: Click on "Upload files" or "Upload folder" based on your needs. Then, select the files or folder you want to back up from your laptop to Dropbox. Alternatively, you can simply drag and drop the files or folders into Dropbox.

Method 4: How to Manually Backup Your Computer to the Cloud with OneDrive

OneDrive is closely linked with Microsoft Office, OneNote, and other handy tools, making it a popular choice for many users. After backing up your computer data to OneDrive, you can easily edit and share files online. Let's explore two simple ways to backup files from your PC to OneDrive:

Step 1: Open your OneDrive account in your web browser.

Step 2: Click on the "Upload" tab to upload the files or folders you want to backup from your laptop.

FAQs About Backing up Computers to Cloud

Q1: Can I back up my entire PC to OneDrive?
A1: Unfortunately, OneDrive only allows you to backup individual files or folders, not your entire computer. To backup your entire PC, including the entire disk, you'll need to use third-party software.

Q2: How do I back up my entire computer?

A2: To backup your entire computer in Windows, you can use Windows Backup. Simply go to Start, then Windows Backup. From there, you can select which folders to back up, such as Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos, and Music.

Q3: What is the best way to backup your computer in Windows 10?

A3: For the best and most secure backup solution for Windows 10, consider using AOMEI Backupper. It allows you to easily backup your files and memories to the cloud, ensuring you can access them on your new computer.

Conclusion

It’s a piece of cake for you to back your PC to a cloud drive, like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, etc., as long as you find the best free way, and usually, it's a free backup software that supports schedule backup system, disk, partition or files. AOMEI Backupper Standard is one such software.

Besides, more advanced features in the premium edition, like event triggers, USB plug-in (copy files from or to plugged-in USB automatically), differential backup, and automatic backup cleanup to help you backup disk efficiently and flexibly.