What’s the best way to back up Windows 11? Is it OneDrive, Backup and Restore, File History, or another program? Why choose MiniTool ShadowMaker?

1. Title: Best Way to Backup Win11: OneDrive/Backup & Restore/File History?
Keywords: best way to backup windows 11, best software to backup windows 11, best tool to backup
windows 11, best program to backup windows 11, best app to backup windows 11
Description: What’s the best way to back up Windows 11? Is it OneDrive, Backup and Restore, File
History, or another program? Why choose MiniTool ShadowMaker?
URL: https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/best-way-to-backup-windows-11.html
Summary: This article commented on MiniTool official web page elaborates on everything you need
to know about Windows 11 backup including strategy, source,destination, reason, types, as well as
tools. Read the below content for details.
For the newestWindows11operatingsystem(OS),comparedwith the lastversionof Windows10,
manythingshave changed,includingfeatures,layouts,design,etc. Thisarticle will talkaboutthe
backupmethods.
The built-inbackupsolutionsin the latestWindows11 are generallysimilartothose inWindows10.
Yet,there are alsosome changesandupgrades.We will elaborate onthose aspects,compare those
backuptoolstogetherwithsome excellentthird-partyapplications,andselectthe bestwayto
backupwindows11.

2. Best Strategy to backup Windows 11
Before discussingthe bestmethodtobackupWindows11, firstof all,itis necessarytolearnthe best
planto backupWindows11. As usual,the bestscheme tobackupWindows11 isthe well-known3-2-
1 backuprule.
 3 backups of your data
 2 local backups on twodifferentmedia
 1 offsite backup
That is to say,it isrecommendedthateveryone hasbetter3copiesof theirimportantdatawithtwo
copiessavedlocallyondifferentlocationsandthe thirdcopystoredremotely(popularlyoncloud
drive).
Also read: Best Practice: 3-2-1 Backup Strategy forHomeUsers & Businesses
What to Back up?
Then,some usersmay wonderwhatdata to back up and whatfilesare crucial?Firstly,the filesand
foldersyoudon’twantto lose are vital like workdocuments,learningmaterials,meaningful
pictures/videos,love songs,andsoon.The followingliststhe commonitemsthatmostpeople find
important.
 Personal filesincludingdocuments,pictures/photos/screenshots/graphics,audios/songs,
videos/movies,etc.
 User data like downloaded/installedapps.
 Operatingsystemanditssettings/preferences.
 …
Where to Back up?
Next,let’s see where tosave yourbackupimage file.Justasmentioned atthe start, you’dbetter
store your backupcopiesindifferentplaces.Indetail,youcanput the backupsin the below
locations:
 Local hard disk drives(HDDs) orsolid-state drives(SSDs),bothinternal andexternal.
 Removable devices suchasUSB flashdrives.
 Remote addresseslike sharedfoldersand NAS(NetworkAttachedStorage).
 Online cloudstorage like OneDrive,GoogleDrive,andDropbox.
https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/the-backup-plan.html
Why Back up?
Also,youneedtoknowwhyyou needtoback updata and whento back upthem.Creatinga backup
of crucial data isan effective andreliablewaytopreventdataloss.Especially,whenyouneedto
searchonline everydayanddeal with businesseswithothers,itisof greatimportance tokeepyour
data safe.
The online environmentandfilessentbyothersare notalwayssafe.Maliciouspeople alwaystake
advantage of various vulnerabilities tobreakintoyourcomputerandattack your files. Theymake
use of all kindsof malicioussoftware,apps,programs,tools,utilities,add-ons,add-ins,etc.toinfect
your PC.Those itemsinclude butare notlimitedtothe below ones.
 Malware

3.  Virus
 Trojan horse
 Worm
 Ransomware
 Rootkit
 Botnet
 Riskware
 Spyware
 Adware
 Bloatware
 Keylogger/keystroke logger
 Phishingsoftware
 Browserhijacker
 DNS hijacker
 Backdoor
 Loader
 Crimeware
 Spam/Spambot
 Dialer
Sometimes,youmaylose datadue toyourself like wrongoperationsandupdatingto an unstable
systemversion,aswell asirresistible factorslikepoweroutage, fire,flood,physical damage,etc.
No matterwhichtype of accidentsyouencounter,youwill probablylose yourdata.Thus,itis
stronglyrecommendedthatyoumake a backupof data especiallyvital files/foldersbefore
unexpectedthingshappen,rightnowwhenyourcomputerisingoodconditionandregularlyinthe
future to protecteditedandnewdata.
https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/windows-11-virus.html
Types of Backup
In thispart, we will discussthe backuptypesyoumayneedtouse.Actually,forclassificationbased
on differentstandards,the backuptypesare unlike.Usually,youcansortbackupsbasedon the
belowcriteria.
#1 Backup Types Based on Source Types
Accordingto the data types,there are:
 File/folderbackup
 Partition/volumebackup
 Systembackup
 Diskbackup
#2 Backup Types Sorted by Source Property
Secondly,youcandefine abackupby itssource attribute.
 Documentbackup(word,excel,ppt,text,note,etc.)
 Email backup(Outlook,Gmail, Thunderbird,etc.)
 Picture/photo/image/graphicsbackup
 Audio/soundbackup (song,music,etc.)

4.  Videobackup (movie,animation,etc.)
 Appbackup (WhatsApp,Steam,QuickBooks,etc.)
 Website backup (WordPress,Google,MiniTool,etc.)
 Systembackup
#3 Backup Types Determined by Destination
Thirdly,youcan decide onbackuptypesrelyingon theirbackupdestination.
 Internal backup
 External backup
 Local backup
 Remote backup
 Cloudbackup
https://www.minitool.com/news/remote-local-backup.html
#4 Backup Types Classified by Media Types
Fourthly,youcan furtherassignbackuptypesbythe targetmediatypes.
 Back up to HDD
 Back up to SSD
 Back up to USB (removable devices)
 Back up to NAS
 Back up to a sharedfolder
 Back up to clouddrive
 Back up to tape
 Back up to CD/DVD
#5 Backup Types Based on Backup Policy
Finally,youcansort backupby howit iscreated.
 Full backup:Back up everything.
 Incremental backup:Onlybackupchangedor new-addeditemsbasedonthe lastbackup.
 Differential backup:Onlybackupchangedor new-addeditemsbasedonthe lastfull backup.
https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/incremental-vs-differential-backup.html
 Hot backup / online backup/dynamicbackup
 Coldbackup / offline backup/staticbackup
https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/hot-backup-vs-cold-backup.html
 Onsite backup
 Offsite backup
https://www.minitool.com/news/offsite-onsite-backup.html
Accordingto yourown situation,choose the bestbackuptype foryourself!
How to Back up Windows 11?
Now,it’stime totalk aboutthe methodstoback up Windows11. As describedabove, there are
several applicationsbuilt-inMicrosoftWindowsPCsystems forbackingupdataand OS. Let’slearn
themone by one.

5. #1 OneDrive
MicrosoftOneDrive,formerlynamedSkyDrive,isafile hostingservice.Itallowsitsuserstosyncand
share theirfiles.OneDrive alsoworksasthe storage back-endof the webversionof MicrosoftOffice.
OneDrive provides5GB of free cloudstorage with100 GB, 1 TB, and 6 TB storage planseither
separatelyorwith Office 365 subscriptions.
The OneDrive clientappcontainsfilesynchronizationandcloudbackupfeatures.Itispreinstalled
togetherwithWindowsandisavailableforWindowsPhone,macOS,IOS,Android, aswell as Xbox.
MicrosoftOneDrive isthe mostrecommendedbackuptool inWindows11.Why do we say that?
AlthoughOneDriveisnota newfeature in Win11, it is highlypromptedthere.Microsoftremoved
the entrance of File HistoryinWindowsSettings andaddOneDrive asthe backuptool inSettings.
Alt=OneDrive inSettings
To viewmore information onMicrosoftOneDrive,please goto Windows11 OneDrive Backup/Sync
FilestoCloudwithLimits
SM-Trial
#2 Backup and Restore
Backup andRestore,formerlyknownasBackupandRestore Center,isthe primary backup
componentsince WindowsVista.ItbecomespopularinWindows7and continuestobe usedin
Windows10/11. So,youcan finditcalledBackupand Restore (Windows7) inthe Control Panel in
bothWin10 andWin11.

6. Alt=BackupandRestore
Backup andRestore can buildfile andfolderbackups andsystemimage backups.Itcan be usedto
recoverdata aftermalware attacks,data corruption,anddiskfailure. BackupandRestore replaces
NTBackup,whichisthe basic backupprogram since WindowsNT3.51. Be more advancedthan
NTBackup,Backup andRestore supportsCDs,DVDs,as well asBlu-raysdiscsas backupmedia.
Backup andRestore providesfileandfolderbackupinall editionsof Windows.Yet,itsfull setof
features isonlyavailableonhigh-endeditionsof Windowslike Professional,Business,Enterprise,
and Ultimate editions.
In Windows8,MicrosoftdeprecatesBackupandRestore and promotesFile History andthird-party
software forfile backupandsystembackuprespectively.However,tosatisfyusers’needsorsome
otherreasons,MicrosoftreintroducesBackupandRestore afterWin8.
Tip: For WindowsServersystems,thecounterpartof Backup and Restoreis WindowsServerBackup.
For more detailsaboutBackupand Restore andhow to make use of it,please referto Windows10
vs Windows11 Backup & Restore vsMiniTool ShadowMaker
SM-Trial
#3 File History
We mentionedFile Historyjustnow.Itisa continuousdataprotection componentintroduced with
Windows8. File History automaticallycreatesincremental backupsof filessavedinLibraries
includingfilesforusersparticipatingina HomeGroup anduser-specifiedfolderstoadifferent
storage medialike anotherharddrive, Storage Space,andnetworkshare.

7. Alt=File History
File HistoryreplacesbothBackupandRestore and Shadow Copy,knownasPreviousVersionsin
WindowsExplorer,asthe mainbackuputilityinWindows8.0. Unlike BackupandRestore,File
Historycan’t backup filesencryptedwith EncryptingFileSystem (EFS).Also,be differentfrom
ShadowCopy,whichconductsblock-level trackingof files, FileHistoryusesthe USN Journal totrack
changesand backsup revisionsof filestothe destination.
To learnmore about File Historyanditsusage instruction, justvisitWindows10vs Windows11 File
History:What’sthe Difference?
SM-Trial
#4 Copy and Paste
Besidesall the above three options,youcandirectlyandmanuallybackupyour data bycopyingand
pasting.Yet,thiskindof methodrequiresmore time andenergy. Also,itisaone-time backup.If you
wantto continuouslyprotectyourfiles,youneedtoremindyourself regularlyinthe future.If you
onlywantto copy the changedor newitems,youhave tofigure themoutby yourself.Those are
troublesome.So,thissolutiononlysuitstemporarilybackup.
Best Way to Backup Windows 11
Comparingthe previousbackupsolutions,itishardto decide whichone isthe bestforeachof them
has itsownadvantage.
 OneDrive:Real-time backupprotectsyourfilescontinuously.Syncingfilesbetweenlocal and
cloudto make it convenienttouse themonany device anywhere.
 Backup and Restore:Back upsystem, partitions/volumes,disks,andfiles/foldersaccording
to yourpreference tolocal or networklocation.

8.  File History: Synclocal filestoanotherdrive ornetworklocationwithafrequency ranging
from10 minutesto24 hours.
 Copy and paste: Easy to operate withoutopeninganyapp.
Yet,theyalsohave disadvantages,forexample:
 OneDrive:Can onlybackup to cloudthat onlyoffer5 GB free storage space.A mistake on
any side will cause the same erroronthe other side immediately.
 Backup and Restore:Cannot create differentialbackups andcannot
compress/encrypt/verify the backupimage.
 File History: Can’tsync to the diskwhere the source filesare located.Can’tbackupfiles
encrypted withEFS.
 Copy and paste: One-time backup;needsmore time andenergy.
Therefore,isthere anotherbackupsoftware thatisbetterthanthose 4 solutions?Of course! Many
third-partybackup toolsremove the shortcomingsof Windowsbuilt-inapps.One of the bestbackup
software is MiniTool ShadowMaker.
SM-Trial
MiniTool ShadowMakeris aprofessional androbustWindows11backupsoftware.Itcan backup all
kindsof data mentionedinthis article,backuptomost destinationssaidabove,aswell as supports
full/incremental/differential/hot/cold/onsite backup.
In addition,MiniTool ShadowMakercansetupa schedule to automaticallybackuptarget data daily
(several timesadayat a specifictime oreveryx hour),weekly(several timesaweekat a specific
time),monthly(several timesamonthat a specifictime),andwhenuserslogon/off.

9. Alt=MiniTool ShadowMaker
Moreover,MiniTool ShadowMakerenablesyouto compress,comment,encrypt,andverifybackup
image files;selectwhichsectortobackup and whichfilestonotback up;splitimage filesforstorage
convenience;getemail notificationof operationresults;etc.
Furthermore,MiniTool ShadowMakercontainsmanyotheruseful featuresincluding backingup
remote computers,restoringthe systemtoanothercomputer, diskclone, PXEboot,creating
bootable media, andsoon.
Conclusion
All inall,we hope youhave got whatyou wantand know the bestway to backupWindows11 now.
If you have any differentideas,pleaseleave acommentbelow.If youencounteranyproblemwhile
usingMiniTool ShadowMaker,justemailusat support@minitool.com.