I’ve been asked on a few occasions about the best way to back up files, documents and photos on Windows. The simplest and most reliable way is to use Microsoft’s own OneDrive. If you’re using Windows 11, OneDrive is already built in and very easy to use. To get started, open the OneDrive app and sign in with your Microsoft account. Then, choose which folders you want to back up—typically Documents, Pictures, and Desktop. OneDrive will automatically sync these files to the cloud whenever any files are added or changed, keeping them safe and accessible from any device, including your iPhone.
OneDrive offers 5GB of free storage, which is great for backing up a few essential files and photos. Microsoft email accounts such as Hotmail count towards this storage so you may find that it’s not quite enough. If you do need more space, the Basic plan costs just £1.99 per month and gives you 100GB of storage which should be plenty for most users.
Using OneDrive is often better than relying on an external hard drive. External drives can be lost, damaged, or fail over time, while cloud storage keeps your files safe even if your computer breaks. Plus, with OneDrive, your files are always up to date and accessible from anywhere.