Windows Backup: does it delete existing data on external hard drive?

Hello to all who is reading

Will the existing data on your external hard dive be deleted when you backup your computer?

I was about to backup my internal hard drive on an external hard drive but thought to myself if doing this will delete the existing contents on the external hard drive. I already have files on the external hard drive that I don't want to be deleted. I tried looking online but found no definitive answer. Your reply would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, I will be using the Windows Backup option in the Control Panel - "Backup and Restore (Windows 7)"

Thank you in advance

Hello @DJ11 and welcome to ElevenForum.

First off, you shouldn't use Backup and Restore (Windows 7), as Microsoft is deprecating it.




Might want to check into some 3rd party backup software....
And no... 3rd party backup software won't "overwrite" things that are already on the external drive.

Thank you for the reply! I have noticed that Microsoft is pushing their OneDrive backup solutions over the Control Panel backup. Also thank you for the recommendations for third-party backup software, I will definitely be looking into them in the future. At the same time, I would like to have a backup before I start researching third-party backup software. Do you know if the Windows backup will overwrite the external hard drive? Or do you believe that I shouldn't use Windows backup at all?

DJ11 said:

Thank you for the reply! I have noticed that Microsoft is pushing their OneDrive backup solutions over the Control Panel backup. Also thank you for the recommendations for third-party backup software, I will definitely be looking into them in the future. At the same time, I would like to have a backup before I start researching third-party backup software. Do you know if the Windows backup will overwrite the external hard drive? Or do you believe that I shouldn't use Windows backup at all?

Click to expand...

Windows backup and restore will create an independent folder on the external hard drive called "WindowsImageBackup" and has never wiped the drive in the years I've used it.
But if you’re worried because you have never done it before, copy the files to your C: drive for peace of mind for the first try.

Backup and restore may very well be getting depreciated (as it has said for many years) but I can’t see how that would prevent a person restoring one of its backups on boot. Maybe MS will remove that ability, I don’t know. I use it all the time, have done for over a decade maybe? and personally, I have never had the problems others complain about.

I’ll add a screenshot in a minute.

Note: If you were to copy your files to the C: Drive for peace of mind, they would be included in the Backup & Restore Image as it clones the entire drive.

To be clear, I am referring to this Backup & Restore

DJ11 said:

Thank you for the reply! I have noticed that Microsoft is pushing their OneDrive backup solutions over the Control Panel backup. Also thank you for the recommendations for third-party backup software, I will definitely be looking into them in the future. At the same time, I would like to have a backup before I start researching third-party backup software. Do you know if the Windows backup will overwrite the external hard drive? Or do you believe that I shouldn't use Windows backup at all?

Click to expand...

Don't use it at all.
If you're new to backup software, start with AOMEI Backupper Standard (free).

In the link I posted above, in the AOMEI section... this is where to start...

Just make a full System backup, with everything set to defaults.



Don't forget to make the bootable rescue media. So you can get to your backups if Windows won't boot...




And just to give you an idea...