This article tells something about an external storage and how to do external storage transfer between internal & external drive or between two external disks.

1. Title: ExternalStorage Transfer/Copy/Backup for Data and System
Keywords: external storage transfer,how totransferdatafromone external harddrive toanother,
howto transferdata to external harddrive, how totransferdatafrom external harddrive tonew
computer
Description: This article tells something about an external storage and how to do external storage
transfer between internal & external drive or between two external disks.
URL: https://www.partitionwizard.com/clone-disk/external-storage-transfer.html
Summary: The following contents include some info about an external storage and how to carry out
external storage transfer between an internal local disk and external hard drive, or between 2
external drives. View more introduction about external devices on MiniTool partition manager
website.
About External Storage
Accordingto Wikipedia,external storage referstoadevice thatsavesdata outside acomputer.This
kind of device can be removable or use removable media, or, be attached to computers permanently.
There are three typesof external storage devices:
1. Flash Memory Devices
Furthermore,there are three categoriesof flash memorydevices.
USB drive
A USB flashdrive isalsocalleda thumbdrive,pendrive,USBmemory,memorystick,flash drive,
jumpdrive,diskkeyora diskon key. Itis an external datastorage device thatincludesflashmemory
withan integratedUSBinterface.

2. Memory card
Memorycards are usedto save digital datainmany electronicsproducts includingcomputers,
phones,cameras,digital TVs,game consoles(e.g. XboxOne andPS4),etc.There are a few kindsof
memorycards including memorystick, CompactFlash,multimediacard (MMC), and soon.
Memory stick
A memorystickisan integratedcircuittoserve asan external storage device andtransfermedium
for digital data.Itis able tosave data in various formslike graphics,text,digital imagesandsoon.
Memorystickshave variousstorage sizesrangingfrom4 MB to 64 MB. Withmemorystickslots,
data transferringbetweendevicesispossible.
Alt=Memory Stick
2. Optical Storage Devices
Also,there are mainly fourcategoriesof optical storage devices.
Compact disc
There are 3 kindsof compact discs:
 CD-ROM (Compactdiskread-onlymemory):CD-ROMdiscscanonlybe read.
 CD-R (Compactdiscrecordable):CD-Rdiscsare considered towrite once andreadmany
disks.

3.  CD-RW (Compactdiscre-writable):CD-RWdiscscanbe erasedandreusedwithlimitedtimes
(currently1000). Theyare compatible withCD-ROMandCD-Rdisks.
DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)
A digital versatile discisalsocalled adigital videodisc.Itsspeedisslowerthanharddiskyetmuch
fasterthan a CD. Most DVDshave a single storage layerbutupto 4 layers.The standardDVD-5
technologyhasa storage capacityof 4.7 GB per layer.
BD (Blu-rayDisc)
The BD isa digital optical discformatwiththe maximumstorage capacityupto50 GB or even100
GB. Its name “Blu-ray”isderivedfrom the blue laserusedtoreadthe disc.
Tip: DVDs use a redlaserto read data.
M-DISC
M-DISCsare available asDVDsor Blu-raydisks.
ALT= DVD+R
3. Magnetic Storage Devices
The common magneticstorage devicesincludeexternal harddiskdrives,magnetic tapesaswell as
floppydisks.
External hard disk drive
An external harddiskdrive isalsocalled aportable external driveordesktopexternal drivedue to
differenttype sizes. Usually,external harddisksdrive isconnectedtocomputersviaUSBcables.

4. Theyare assembledbycombininganexternal enclosure withaseparatelypurchaseddrive. The
available capacityforexternal harddiskdrivesrangesfrom500 GB to 10 TB.
Floppydisk
A floppydiskisalsocalled afloppy,simplydiskordiskette.Itisa kindof external storage device that
iscomposedof a flexible andthinmagneticstorage mediumdisk.Floppydisksare readandwritten
by a floppydiskdrive (FDD).
Magnetictape
Magnetictape data storage isa systemforsavingdigital dataon magnetictape usingdigital
recording.Beingdifferentfromthe oldlarge openreelsshape,modernmagnetictapesare packaged
incases,such as the LinearTape-Open(LTO).Nowadays,besidesdatastorage,magnetictapesare
alsousedfor systembackup,dataexchange anddata archive.
Alt=Magnetic Tape
Why Need External Storage?
The followingare commonsituationswhere youneedtorelyonexternal storage transfer.
Data Storage for a Long Time
Usually,whenyouneedtokeepsome crucial datafor a longtime withoutusingit,the external
storage device isthe bestchoice. Since external devicesare disconnectedfromthe working
computer,there isnochance for the wrongdeletionof the importantfilesstoredonthe disk.Also,
systemcrashes,virusattacks,malware,etc.won’taffectthematall.
Data Storage Temporarily
Suppose yourcurrentcomputerisgoingto crash due to software problems.The firstthingyouwill
do isto take your importantfilesout.Atthismoment,anexternal storage diskisnecessaryfor
temporarilykeepingthose data.Whenyougetthe software issue fixed,youcantransferthose files
back to yourcomputer.
Data Transfer Between Computers
You geta newcomputerandyouwant to migrate the necessary filesfromthe oldcomputerto the
new one.Inthissituation,anexternal harddiskisuseful for external storage transfer.You should,
firstof all,take target filesintothe externaldisk.Then,movethe filesfrom the external drive into
your newcomputer.
Also,whenyouneedtotransfersome filesfromyourlaptoptodesktop,fromyourworking
computerinthe office topersonal computerhome orvice versa,youstill needthe helpof external
storage devices.
Taking Files Everywhere
Or, if there are some filesyouhave totake withyou whereveryougo,a portable external storage
device isa goodchoice for storingthose files. Forexample,if youare a teacher,a trainer,anorator

5. or justan interviewee,youhave totake yourworksto differentclassroomsorcompanyoffices.
Gettinga USB flashdrive containingyourdocswithyouisa perfectchoice.
https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmagic/how-to-use-an-external-hard-drive.html
How to Do External Storage Transfer?
Accordingto the above description, external storage devicesare veryuseful.And,youcantransfer
filesfrominternal disktoexternal harddrive,transferdatafromexternal drive tolocal storage as
well astransferitemsbetweentwoexternal disks.
The followingare the guidelinesforhowto transfer data to external hard drive.
Tip: The externalstoragedevice should notbesmall than the totalsize of the targetfiles/foldersthat
you are going to transfer.
Step 1. Connectyour external disktothe computerwhere the targetfilesstored.
Step 2. Enter WindowsExplorerand find where the targetfileslocate.
Step 3. Selectall the filesorfoldersthatyouwantto transfer.Right-clickonthemandchoose Copy.
Kind tips:
 If you wantto transferall the filesin the same location,youcanuse the “Ctrl + A” shortcut
to selectall files.
 If the targetfiles are continuousinthe same location,youcanclickon the firstitem, then
clickthe last one while pressing the Shiftkeytoactivate themall.
 If the targetfilesare notcontinuousinthe same location,youshouldclickthemone byone
while pressingdownthe Ctrl keytohighlightthem.
 If you do notwant to keeptargetfilesinitsoriginal place,youcanselect Cutin the right-
clickmenu.

6. Alt=Copy FilesfromLocal Disk
Step 4. Switchto the external storage destinationlocation,right-clickonanyblankareaand select
Paste.

7. Alt=Paste FilestoExternal Hard Drive
Step 5. Wait until the processfinishes.The time the processtakesdependingonthe size of the
transferredfiles.Then,checkwhetherall targetfilesare successfullytransferredornot.If there isno
problem, safelydisconnectthe external drive fromyourcomputer.
Tip: If the externaldrive is a USB flash diskor similar disk,just right-click on it on the left menu bar
and chooseEject to safely removeit.

8. Alt=Eject External HardDrive
If your target filesscatteramongdifferentlocations,youhave torepeatthe above stepsto carry out
external storage transfer.As for how to transfer data from external hard drive to new computer
and how to transfer data from one external hard drive to another, the stepsare similartothe
above ones.
https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/external-hard-drive-vs-flash-drive.html
How to Transfer a Complete Local Disk to External Hard Drive?
Besidesthe singlefilesorfolders, youcanstill carryout external storage transfer inthe disk
partitionlevel.The stepsare similartothe above ones.
Step 1. Connecttargetexternal harddrive withsource local machine.
Step 2. In Windows Explorer,right-clickonthe targetlocal disk inthe leftmenuandselect Copy.

9. Alt=Coy Local Disk
Step 3. Move to the external drive,right-clickon ablankarea and selectPaste.
Step 4. Wait for the finishof the taskand disconnectthe externalstorage device.
Thisguide will successfullycopyall the filesinsource local disk tothe external harddrive. If youjust
wantto make a copyof the system disksoas to restore the whole system toa healthycondition
whensomedaythe original OScrashes,orjustwantto make the external driveasa bootable device,
youcan’t relyon the above guide.
The simple copy/paste operationbyWindowscan’tensure the bootof the copiedsystem.And,
there are many keyfilesyoumissed.Theylocate in the systemrecoverypartition,reservedpartition,
EFI systempartition,etc. thatare invisible inWindowsExplorer.
Then,whatshouldyoudo? Luckily,youcanrelyon MiniTool PartitionWizard toview all system-
relatedpartitionsandcopy all the partitions tothe external harddrive while ensuringthe bootability
of the copiedsystem. The copytaskisverysimilartothe copyprocessin WindowsExplorer.

10. External Storage Transfer with MiniTool Partition Wizard
Besides copyingall system-relatedpartitionone byone toexternal harddisk,youcan copy the
whole harddrive (includingsystempartition,EFIsystempartition,reservedpartition,recovery
partitionandall otherdata partitions) toa large enoughexternal diskwhile alsoensuringbootability
of the systembyMiniTool PartitionWizard.
Tip: The local disk C,D, E, etc. you usually see in WindowsExploreris the differentpartitions in the
samehard drive in mostsituations.
Make sure the external hard drive is no small than the used space of the local system hard drive. And,
ensure thatthere isno importantdataon the external diskforitwill be overwrittenduringthe copy
process.
Step 1. Purchase and install MiniTool PartitionWizardProeditiononyourcomputer.
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Step 2. Connectthe external hardto yourcomputerand launchPartitionWizard.
Step 3. In the mainUI of the software,right-clickthe source systemharddrive andselect Copy.
Alt=Copy Local Disk 1
Step 4. Selectthe external storage device astargetdisk.

11. Alt=SelectTargetExternal HardDrive
Step 5. Selecta Copy Optionto continue.

12. Alt=Review External HardDrive Changes
Step 6. Previewthe changesafterthe copyprocess.If youare satisfiedwiththe result,thenclick
Apply onthe lowerlefttocarry outthe process.

13. Alt=ApplyExternal Storage Transfer
You can see there isan operationcalled“Update Diskx BootConfigure”underthe pending
operationsinthe leftpanel.Thisoperationisspecial for ensuringthe bootability of the copiedOS.
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External Storage Transfer FAQ
WhyI can’t copy my large file into my external hard drive?
It ispossible whenyourlarge fileisgreaterthan4GB and your external harddrive isof the FAT32 file
system.Thatis because the FAT32 files systemcanonlysupport filesupto4 GB. To containfiles
largerthan 4 GB, youcan convertFAT32 to NTFS file system.
Can I transfer PS4 gamesto an external hard drive?
Of course,youcan! The stepsare below:
1. In the home screenof PS4, selectthe Settings.
2. Scroll downto findStorage,choose SystemStorage andthenpickApplications.
3. SelectOptionsand thenselect“Move toExtendedStorage”.
4. Selectthe gamesyouwantto transferby checkingthe boxesbeforethem.
5. SelectMove andthenclick OKto start the transmission.
Can I backup my computer filesto an external hard drive?

14. Yes,you can. Forbackup,you can simplycopyandpaste target filesfromlocal computertoexternal
disk.Also,youcanjust create an image of themand store the image on the external storage device.
An image file ismuchsmallerthanthe copiedfiles.If youchoose tocreate animage,then,youhave
to relyonprofessional backupsoftwarelike MiniTool ShadowMaker.