Two Easy and Free Ways to Backup Windows 7 to USB Drive?

While Microsoft is pushing hard for users to upgrade to Windows 11, Windows 7 remains one of the most widely used operating systems worldwide, second only to Windows 10 and 11. Moreover, most of our important files are stored on our computers, and we rely on a functioning OS for our daily file operations. This is why backing up Windows 7 is crucial.

If you want to back up your Windows 7 computer to a USB drive but have no idea how to do it, don't worry. This post from MiniTool will show you 2 free and easy ways on how to back up Windows 7 to USB drive. Just learn them now!

Backup Windows 7 to USB Device with Windows Backup Software

If you want to backup Windows 7 to USB flash drive, using professional backup software is a good option. This is because such software can help you easily and quickly create a Windows system image on USB, and restore it when needed. If you're looking for such a tool, don't worry. Here, we'll introduce you to a free and versatile Windows backup software - AOMEI Backupper.

is a handy backup software for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7. It helps you automatically back up files, disks, system, applications, and more, and save the backups to various locations such as USB drives, local drives, NAS, Safe Zone, and cloud storage. Here are some practical features of this backup tool:

Todo Backup is a tool that can help you easily back up your Windows 7 system image to a USB drive. It also aids in cloning or imaging hard disks and creating a WinPE bootable disk. Make sure to download it on your computer to safeguard your Windows PC.

Here's how to create a Windows 7 system image on a USB flash drive with the Windows 7 backup software, Todo Backup.

Step 1: Launch Todo Backup on your computer. On the main screen, click “Create a Backup,” and then hit the big question mark button to choose what you want to back up.

Step 2: Click "OS" to start backing up your Windows operating system.

Step 3. Your Windows operating system information and all system-related files and partitions will be selected automatically, so you don't need to make any manual selections here. Next, you'll need to click on the illustrated area to choose where to save your system image backup.

Step 4: The backup location can be another local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, a network, cloud, or a NAS. We generally recommend saving system backup files to an external physical drive or the cloud.

Step 5: If you want to customize your backup, click on Options to set up scheduled backups daily, weekly, or monthly, trigger backups on events, and perform differential and incremental backups. Click Backup Now to start the process. When finished, the backup job will appear as a card on the left side.

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Back up and restore a Windows 7 image to a USB

Another way to copy Windows 7 to a USB drive is by using Backup and Restore (Windows 7), the built-in Windows Backup app in the operating system. The Windows 7 Backup and Restore can also help you back up your hard disk and create a Windows System Image backup on an external hard drive like a USB flash drive. Here's how:

Step 1: Click the Start menu, type “backup” in the search box, or go to Control Panel – System and Security – Backup and Restore to run Windows 7 Backup and Restore. Then click Create a system image.

Step 2: Choose where you want to save the Windows 7 system image (your USB drive should appear under "On a hard disk"). Click "Next."

Select the USB device as the backup destination.

Step 3: Select what you want to back up. Generally, the system partition and the boot partition should be selected automatically.

Step 4: Review your backup settings, and tap Start Backup.

Yes, you can use a USB drive to backup your Windows computer. Here's how: 1. **Connect the USB Drive**: Plug in the USB drive into your Windows computer's USB port. 2. **Prepare the USB Drive**: Make sure the USB drive has enough storage space to accommodate the backup. You may need to format it to ensure compatibility with Windows. Right-click on the USB drive in File Explorer, choose "Format," and select the appropriate file system (usually NTFS for Windows). 3. **Create a System Image Backup**: - Press the Windows key + X, then click on "Control Panel." - In the Control Panel, select "System and Security" and then "Backup and Restore." - Click on "Create a system image" on the left side of the window. - Follow the prompts to select the USB drive as the destination for the backup. 4. **Backup Your Files**: - Alternatively, you can use the built-in "File History" feature to back up your personal files. Go to "Control Panel" > "System and Security" > "File History." Turn on File History and choose your USB drive as the location. 5. **Backup Your Folders Manually**: If you prefer more control over which folders to backup, you can copy and paste them directly from your computer to the USB drive. 6. **Backup Your Programs**: Note that backing up programs usually requires reinstalling them after a restore, as they are often tied to the specific system configuration. However, you can backup program settings using tools like the built-in "Export" feature in many programs or third-party software. 7. **Wait for the Backup Process to Finish**: Depending on the size of your data and the speed of your USB drive, this process might take some time. Remember, it's always a good idea to keep multiple backups and to test the restoration process periodically to ensure the backups are working correctly.

A USB flash drive is a portable storage device used to store documents, videos, photos, music, and other data. Thanks to its high flexibility and portability, a USB drive is usually smaller than HDDs, SSDs, and other storage devices. Therefore, you might wonder whether you can use a USB flash drive to back up your whole computer or if it's good to backup Windows 7/8/10/11 to a USB drive?

The answer is yes, you can back up your entire Windows computer to a USB drive, and it's a good idea to back up Windows 7 to a USB drive because you can restore the backup image when Windows 7 fails to boot or gets corrupted.

When your Windows 7 operating system is experiencing issues that are difficult to fix, you can use the System Image Backup on Windows 7 to restore your Windows computer to a point in time when everything was working fine. You can also back up your files to a USB drive on Windows 7 to protect against data loss in case of a system failure.

In summary

This post will introduce two free ways on how to back up Windows 7 to USB drive. Generally speaking, it's always a wise choice to create a backup of Windows 11/10/8/7 in case of problems, so that you can restore the Windows operating system to its previous state. You can use the Windows backup software - Todo Backup and the built-in backup program of Windows 7 - Backup and Restore to back up Windows 7 system to a USB drive.

With professional backup tool Todo Backup, you can easily backup Windows 7 to external hard drive, and restore Windows 7 from system image backup or restore Windows 7 on a hard drive with incompatible hardware. Download it to have a try now!

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Backup Windows 7 to USB Drive

What size flash drive do I need to back up my computer?

To back up your computer to a USB flash drive, you'll need a USB drive with at least 16 GB of space. Generally, Microsoft recommends that 16 GB is enough space to back up a Windows computer, but 32 GB is ideal. Get one that suits your needs.

How do I back up my entire Windows 7 computer?

To back up whole Windows 7 PC, you can use Windows 7 backup software like Todo Backup and the built-in Windows 7 backup tool (Backup and Restore). These tools can help you easily back up Windows 7 to external hard drive with no effort.

3. Can I copy Windows 7 to a USB stick?

Yes, you can copy Windows 7 to a USB drive. You can copy the entire operating system, installed applications, and other data to the USB drive. However, if you want the system on the USB drive to be bootable, cloning is the better approach. It allows you to copy Windows to the drive without losing data or having to reinstall it. The tool Todo Backup can also help you clone the system to an external drive easily and quickly.