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How to back up a Windows 11 PC for free

ByEliani Posted on Updated on
Two free backup tools in Windows 11. Windows Backup: Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music to OneDrive, plus apps and settings, for setting up a new PC; needs a personal Microsoft account; 5 GB free. File History: copies and earlier versions of your libraries on an external drive, for getting back deleted or overwritten files. Use both, and test a restore with Restore to.

Windows 11 has two free backup tools built in, and they protect different things. Windows Backup saves your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music folders to OneDrive, along with your apps list and settings, so a new PC can be set up the way the old one was. File History copies your files to an external drive or network location and keeps earlier versions, so you can get back a file you deleted or overwrote. If your client files live on one laptop, use both: Windows Backup for the quick move to a new machine, File History for a copy that doesn’t depend on your OneDrive space. Then test a restore, because a backup you’ve never restored from is only a hope.

Before you start

  • You’ll need: a Windows 11 PC. For Windows Backup, a personal Microsoft account; Microsoft says work or school accounts won’t work. For File History, an external drive or a network location.
  • Cost: free, within limits. A free Microsoft account includes 5 GB of OneDrive storage, which many people’s folders will outgrow.
  • Time: 10 minutes to set up, plus however long the first backup takes.
  • How we checked this: based on Microsoft’s own support pages, checked October 18, 2026.

Which tool protects what

  • Windows Backup: your five main folders (through OneDrive), your installed apps list, and settings such as Wi-Fi networks and passwords, accessibility, language and personalization. It’s built for moving to a new or reset PC.
  • File History: copies of your libraries, including Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music, on a drive you control, with earlier versions you can go back to. It’s built for “I deleted that file” or “I saved over the wrong version”.

Microsoft notes that Windows Backup doesn’t cover Microsoft Edge. To keep your favorites and Edge preferences, sign in to Edge and turn on sync.

Set up Windows Backup

  1. If you sign in to Windows with a local account, switch first: Settings > Accounts > Your info, then Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.
  2. Select Start, type “backup”, and open Windows Backup.
  3. Expand Folders and turn on the folders you want: Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music.
  4. Expand the settings items and turn on the ones you want to keep, such as your apps and Wi-Fi networks and passwords.
  5. Select Back up.

You can check the status later in the Windows Backup app or in Settings > Accounts > Windows backup.

Watch your storage. Your folders are stored in OneDrive, and Microsoft warns that personalization settings won’t be backed up if you run out of OneDrive space. If your folders are bigger than your free 5 GB, either buy more storage or rely on File History for the files and leave the folder backup off.

Set up File History

  1. Connect your external drive.
  2. Open Control Panel, and under System and Security select Save backup copies of your files with File History.
  3. Select Turn on.
  4. To use a different drive or a network location, choose Select drive, pick it, and select OK.

Microsoft says File History backs up your libraries. If your client files are in a folder elsewhere, such as directly on the C: drive, add it to a library: right-click the folder, select Show more options, then Include in library.

File History keeps backing up while the drive is connected, so plug it in regularly. A drive that sits in a drawer for months holds a months-old backup.

Test a restore before you need it

This is the step most people skip. Pick a file you don’t mind experimenting with:

  1. Open File Explorer and go to the folder that holds it.
  2. Right-click the folder and select Restore previous versions.
  3. Choose an earlier version, expand Restore, and select Restore to… to save it somewhere else.

Using Restore to… matters. Microsoft warns that a plain Restore replaces the current version, and that the replacement can’t be undone.

How restoring works on a new PC

When you set up a new PC or reinstall Windows, sign in with the same Microsoft account you used for Windows Backup. Microsoft says Windows will notice your backup and offer to restore it. If you’ve backed up more than one PC, select More options to choose which.

Your pinned apps come back. Apps from the Microsoft Store reinstall from their pins; for other apps, Windows sends you to the web to download the installer, so keep your licence keys somewhere other than the old laptop. Your files come back through OneDrive when you sign in with the same account.

Your File History copies are separate: they stay on your backup drive, so they don’t depend on your Microsoft account or your OneDrive space.

Why one copy in OneDrive isn’t enough

OneDrive keeps your folders in the cloud, but a personal account only holds deleted files in the OneDrive recycle bin for 30 days, according to Microsoft. After that, they’re gone. Microsoft says Microsoft 365 subscribers can also restore their whole OneDrive to an earlier point if something goes wrong; free accounts don’t get that.

A File History drive is the safety net for the gaps: a file deleted two months ago, a mistake that synced everywhere, or a OneDrive account you can’t sign in to. Keep the drive somewhere other than your laptop bag, so a single theft doesn’t take both.

If it doesn’t work

  • Windows Backup says your account isn’t supported: it only works with a personal Microsoft account, not a work or school one.
  • The folder backup stops or warns about storage: your OneDrive is full. Free up space, buy more, or turn the folder backup off and use File History.
  • File History can’t find your drive: reconnect it, then use Select drive to choose it again.
  • Windows is slow or out of space before you start: our guide to freeing up disk space in Windows 11 covers the safe places to look.
  • Windows restarted in the middle of a long first backup: see our guide to stopping Windows 11 restarting for updates during work hours.

If you lost a document before setting any of this up, our guide to recovering an unsaved or deleted Word document is the place to start.

Related guides

Sources

Last checked: October 18, 2026. Microsoft changes Windows and OneDrive regularly. If something here no longer matches what you see, let us know.

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Eliani runs The Solo Toolbox and writes and checks its guides to the software that freelancers and one-person businesses rely on: Windows, Apple and Android devices, AI assistants, email, payments and backups. Every guide is checked against the software maker's own documentation and current version before it's published, links to its sources, and says plainly whether it's based on hands-on use or on research. Eliani uses AI tools for research and drafting, and reviews every article's facts and instructions before it goes live. You can reach Eliani through the contact page, and read how articles are checked and corrected in our editorial standards.

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