How to Copy Files to an External Hard Drive

This wikiHow teaches you how to copy files that are on your computer onto a portable hard drive, flash drive, or memory card.

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Connecting the Drive

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    Determine the connection type for the hard drive and your computer. Virtually all external hard drives use a USB cable to connect to your computer, but you may find that your computer doesn't have a traditional rectangular USB port.
    • Mac computers and some Microsoft computers use oval USB-C ports instead of traditional USB 3.0 ports.
    • Likewise, it's good to know if your external hard drive uses a USB-C cable when your computer only has USB 3.0 ports.
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    Buy an adapter if necessary. If your computer has a USB-C port instead of a USB 3.0 port, you'll need to buy a USB-C to USB 3.0 adapter for your computer. You can find these online or in some tech stores (e.g., Best Buy).
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    Plug one end of the external hard drive's cable into your computer. This will usually be the USB end of the cable. The USB connector should only fit one way, so don't force it if it doesn't fit; instead, rotate it 180 degrees and try connecting it again.
    • If you're using an adapter, first connect the end of the adapter that fits in your computer to your computer, then plug the end of the external hard drive's cable into the free end of the adapter.
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    Attach the other end of the cable to the external hard drive. Depending on the external hard drive, the cable may already be attached; if not, attach the free end of the cable to the port into which it fits on the external hard drive.
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    Format your hard drive if necessary. Depending on both the external hard drive and your computer's operating system, you may not be able to use your drive until you change its format to work with your computer.
    • Both Windows and Mac users can select exFAT as the file system when formatting the drive. This is ideal if you want to use your hard drive with both Windows and Mac computers.
    • Formatting an external hard drive will erase everything on it.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Adding Files on Windows

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    Open File Explorer
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    .     Click the File Explorer app icon, which resembles a yellow and blue folder, in your computer's task bar at the bottom of the screen.
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    Go to the folder where your files are. Using the left-hand panel of options, go to the folder where you have the files you want to copy to the external hard drive.
    • For example, if your files are in the Documents folder, you would click Documents on the left to open the Documents folder.
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    Highlight the files you want to copy. To do so, click and drag your mouse cursor across the contents of the folder.
    • You can also hold down Ctrl and click each file you want to copy to select them individually.
    • To highlight everything in a given folder, press Ctrl+A.
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    Copy the files. Press Ctrl+C to do so.
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    Click This PC. It's on the left side of the File Explorer window.
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    Double-click your external hard drive's name. You'll see it below the "Devices and drives" heading in the middle of the page.
    • If you don't see anything below the "Devices and drives" heading, click once the heading to expand it.
    • If you can't find your external hard drive here, try using a different USB slot for your hard drive.
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    Paste in your files. Click a blank space in the external hard drive's window, then press Ctrl+V to paste in the copied files.
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    Wait for your files to finish copying onto the drive. Depending on your files' sizes, this process time will vary.
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    Remove your hard drive. Once your files are done copying to the hard drive, safely removing your hard drive will ensure that no files are lost or corrupted:
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Adding Files on Mac

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    Open
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    Finder.     Click the Finder app icon, which resembles a blue face, in your Mac's Dock.
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    Highlight the files you want to copy. Open a folder when you keep your files, then click and drag your mouse cursor across the contents of the folder.
    • You can also hold down ⌘ Command and click each file you want to copy to select them individually.
    • If you can't find your files, click All My Files on the left side of the Finder window to browse all of your Mac's folders.
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    Click the Edit menu item. It's in the upper-left corner of your Mac's screen.
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    Click Copy. This option is in the Edit drop-down menu.
    EXPERT TIP
    Luigi Oppido

    Luigi Oppido

    Computer & Tech Specialist
    Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.
    Luigi Oppido
    Luigi Oppido
    Computer & Tech Specialist

    You can also drag and drop files into the external hard drive. If you plug in an external hard drive, it usually opens in Finder. Highlight your files, click and hold them, and then drag and drop them into the new drive you plugged in. If it doesn’t work, the drive might need to be formatted for Macs through OS Journal.

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    Click your external hard drive's name. You'll find it below the "Devices" heading on the left side of the Finder window. Doing so opens your hard drive's window in the Finder.
    • If you can't find your external hard drive here, try using a different USB slot for your hard drive.
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    Click the Edit menu item again. The drop-down menu will reappear.
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    Click Paste Items. This will begin copying your selected files onto your external drive.
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    Wait for your files to finish copying. Depending on your files' sizes, this process time will vary.
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    Click the "Eject"
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    button.     It's an upward-facing arrow to the right of your hard drive's name in Finder. Doing so ensures that you can remove your hard drive without risking file loss or corruption.
    • Once you see the external hard drive's name disappear from the Finder side pane, you can physically disconnect it from your Mac.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    What should I do to get more space for Windows 10?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Remove temporary files or files you really don´t need. A simple program for this is CCleaner, which will remove unnecessary files for you quickly and efficiently.
  • Question
    What happens to my files, data, etc. when I disconnect/unplug my hard drive?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Whatever files or data you moved to your hard drive just stays there after unplugging. The point of an external hard drive is to keep your files somewhere safe outside of your PC. As soon as you plug the drive back in, you can access those files again.
  • Question
    Do viruses transfer to external hard drives?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    In short, yes. Viruses are programs, and if you backup a program, then you will backup any associated viruses. If you copy an infected file of your own, such as a family picture, the same thing will happen. However, your picture alone cannot give you that virus on your new OS. It requires the virus program to run in the background to send data to the attacker.
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Warnings

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About This Article

Luigi Oppido
Co-authored by:
Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 1,207,087 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 27
Updated: July 28, 2022
Views: 1,207,087
Categories: File Manipulation
Article SummaryX

1. Connect the drive to the computer.
2. Format the drive if necessary.
3. Open File Explorer.
4. Go to the folder with the files you want to copy.
5. Select the files and press Ctrl + C.
6. Click This PC.
7. Open the external drive.
8. Right-click a blank area and press Ctrl + V.

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