What Is a Toshiba External Hard Drive & Why Should You Backup It?

Toshiba is a renowned brand, and its external hard drives are popular globally. A Toshiba external hard drive is an excellent choice for fulfilling your backup and storage requirements. It enables you to extend the storage capacity of your laptops, desktops, or tablets with a variety of options offering great capacity and reliability. Toshiba offers a broad selection of external hard drives tailored to users' needs, including Canvio Basics, Canvio Advance, Canvio Flex, Canvio Gaming, Canvio Slim, and more.

Toshiba Canvio External Hard Drive

As we all know, external hard drives, including Toshiba ones, are susceptible to similar risks as your computers, such as computer viruses, accidental deletion, hardware failures, fires, water damage, and so on. Moreover, storing excessive amounts of data and information on a Toshiba hard drive can slow down your computer's performance, and the hard drive itself is prone to crashes. Hence, it is essential to regularly back up Toshiba hard drives to safeguard against data loss.

< a id="2" name="2">Backup Toshiba External Hard Drive using Toshiba Backup Software

Toshiba provides a backup software called Toshiba Storage Backup Software for their Canvio series external hard drives. This software is a data backup utility that is compatible with both Windows 10 and 8. It enables users to back up folders stored on their computers to an external storage device. Furthermore, it allows you to set up individual backup plans for each storage device, and to restore backups when necessary. Each backup plan can be scheduled to perform automatic backups at predefined times.

However, it's uncertain that Toshiba Storage Backup Software can function seamlessly on all computers and effectively backup or restore all files on the storage device. Moreover, Toshiba Backup Software limits support to backing up external hard drives to NTFS-formatted storage devices only.

Important: Before backing up your Toshiba external hard drive, you should:

    Connect the Toshiba external drive to your computer; Check whether the hard drive is formatted in the NTFS file system. You can navigate to This PC, right-click on the hard drive, and then select Properties to verify.

You can follow the guide below to create a backup of your Toshiba external hard drive using Toshiba Storage Backup Software: 1. **Download and Install Toshiba Storage Backup Software**: Visit the official Toshiba website and download the appropriate backup software for your operating system (Windows or macOS). Install it on your computer. 2. **Connect the Toshiba External Hard Drive**: Plug in your Toshiba external hard drive to your computer using a USB cable. Make sure it is powered on and recognized by your system. 3. **Launch the Backup Software**: Open the Toshiba Storage Backup Software on your computer. It may require you to provide administrator permissions. 4. **Select Backup Source**: In the software interface, choose the "Source" or "What to Back Up" option. Browse and select the files, folders, or entire disk that you want to back up from your Toshiba external hard drive. 5. **Choose Backup Destination**: Next, select the "Destination" or "Where to Save Backup" option. Choose the location where you want to save the backup files. It's recommended to use a different drive or another external hard drive for better safety. 6. **Backup Options**: You may have additional options like scheduling backups, creating an incremental or differential backup, or enabling encryption. Configure these settings according to your needs. 7. **Start the Backup Process**: Once you've set all the parameters, click on "Start Backup" or a similar button to initiate the backup process. The software will now copy the selected data from your Toshiba external hard drive to the designated backup location. 8. **Monitor the Progress**: Keep an eye on the progress bar to see how much of the backup has been completed. Do not disconnect the external hard drive or turn off your computer during the backup process. 9. **Verify the Backup**: After the backup is finished, it's a good practice to verify its integrity by checking if you can access the backed-up files and folders. 10. **Regularly Update Your Backup**: To ensure your data is always up-to-date, remember to run the backup software periodically or according to the schedule you've set. By following these steps, you'll have a reliable backup of your Toshiba external hard drive using Toshiba Storage Backup Software.

Step 1. Download and install the Storage Backup Software from the official Toshiba website. Then, launch the software.

Step 2. The software will display a list of compatible storage devices in the main interface. Select the one you wish to back up and click on Next.

toshiba storage backup software-1

Step 3. If the storage device has multiple partitions, select the partition where you want to back up your files and click on Next.

Toshiba Storage Backup Software-2

Step 4. Choose the folder you want to back up and click Next.

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Step 5. Configure the backup schedule, and then click Next.

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Step 6. Confirm the backup plan and then click on Save.

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Step 7. When the message "Do you want to start the backup now?" appears, click on OK.

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[Recommended!] Backing Up Toshiba External Drive Using Disk Imaging Software

As mentioned earlier, Toshiba Backup Software only supports creating backups of Toshiba external drives to storage devices formatted in the NTFS file system. Hence, before using this program for backup, ensure that the target device is formatted in NTFS. If not, worry not, as you can seek assistance from third-party backup software. Professional backup tools like Todo Backup provide an alternative method for backing up a Toshiba external hard drive. Todo Backup is among the market's top-rated best external hard drive backup software.

Todo Backup Home is a versatile backup tool designed for various purposes. It is compatible with different Windows operating systems, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7. This software allows you to create different types of backups, such as system backup, file backup, disk backup, and partition backup. It supports automated backups, scheduled backups, as well as incremental and differential backups. You can use it to back up an external drive to OneDrive or other cloud services, and also clone hard drives. Additionally, it provides 250GB of free cloud storage to cater to your diverse storage requirements.

Here are the steps to create a backup of your Toshiba external hard drive: 1. **Connect the External Hard Drive**: Plug in your Toshiba external hard drive to your computer using a USB cable or an appropriate adapter, ensuring it is powered on. 2. **Backup Software Preparation**: - If your Toshiba external hard drive came with backup software, install and launch it. Otherwise, you can use built-in backup tools like Windows' Backup and Restore (for Windows users) or Time Machine (for Mac users). - Alternatively, you can opt for third-party backup software like Acronis True Image, tools Todo Backup, or Macrium Reflect. 3. **Select Backup Method**: - **Full Backup**: This copies all the data on the hard drive, which is time-consuming but provides a complete snapshot. - **Incremental Backup**: Only new or modified files since the last backup are copied, saving time. - **Differential Backup**: Copies all changes made since the last full backup, also faster than a full backup. 4. **Choose Backup Files/Folders**: In the backup software, specify which files, folders, or partitions you want to back up. You can choose to backup everything or select specific items. 5. **Set Backup Destination**: Designate your Toshiba external hard drive as the destination for the backup. Make sure there's enough free space to accommodate the data. 6. **Schedule Backup**: Depending on your needs, you can set up a one-time backup or schedule regular backups (daily, weekly, or monthly). 7. **Start the Backup Process**: After configuring the settings, initiate the backup process. Wait for it to complete; this may take some time depending on the amount of data. 8. **Verify Backup**: Once the backup is finished, it's good practice to verify the integrity of the backup by checking if you can access and read the backed-up files. 9. **Keep the Backup Updated**: Regularly update your backup to ensure you have the latest version of your important files. Remember to always keep your backup drive in a safe place, away from potential hazards such as water, extreme temperatures, and magnetic fields.

Step 1. Begin by selecting the backup content.

create disk backup step1

Step 2. There are four backup categories: File, Disk, OS, and Mail. Click on Disk.

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Step 3. You can choose to back up the entire disk or a specific partition. Select what you need and click OK.

disk partition backup

Step 4. Choose the location where you want to save the backup.

select a backup target location

Step 5. For disk/partition backup, you can opt to save the backup to a local drive or to a NAS.

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Step 6. Once the backup process is finished, your task will be displayed on the left. Right-click on any of the tasks to manage your backup further, such as recovering it, creating an incremental backup, and more.

Disk backup step6

Final Words

Choosing a reliable and efficient Toshiba external hard drive backup software is crucial for all Toshiba hard drive users, as it guarantees the safety of your important data. Two options are presented here: Toshiba Storage Backup Software and Todo Backup. While Toshiba Storage Backup Software supports backup to NTFS drives only, we recommend Todo Backup for its more advanced backup features and user-friendly interface. This tool can provide you with a superior backup experience.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

**1. What is Toshiba Storage Security Software?**

Toshiba Storage Security Software enables users to safeguard their Toshiba Canvio Series hard drive with exclusive passwords, thereby preventing unauthorized access to personal information. It offers the capability to set up password protection and data encryption features to ensure the security of your files and folders.

2. How do I back up my files to an external hard drive?

If you wish to back up a file or folder to an external drive, simply connect an external hard disk to your computer. Next, click on the desired items and drag them to the external drive. This will create a copy of your files on both your computer and the external hard drive, ensuring they are safely stored in two locations.

3. Is Toshiba external hard drive a good option?

Toshiba hard drives are renowned for their durability. Frequently ranked among the most dependable hard drives available, this is due to their robust construction. Designed to endure substantial wear and tear, they are ideal for users seeking a hard drive with long-lasting performance.

4. Why can't I add files to my external hard drive on Mac?

The external hard drive has been configured with read-only permissions, preventing you from adding or removing files. It could also be using a partially supported file system like NTFS, which macOS can only access in read-only mode. Additionally, the drive might be encrypted, making it inaccessible until it's decrypted.