Best Free WD Elements Backup Software - AOMEI Backupper

A WD Elements external hard drive is a simple and reliable way to store important files, but keeping your data safe requires a proper backup strategy. Whether you want to automatically back up documents, photos, videos, or create a complete disk image, choosing the right WD Elements backup software can make the process faster and more secure.

🌟 To check more scenarios about backing up (to) a WD drive, please refer to this complete guide: WD Backup.

Can I Backup WD Elements Hard Drive?

As far as I know, the Western Digital offers different series (My Passport, My Book, WD TV, My Cloud, Elements, ShareSpace, etc) of hard drive with different WD drive utilities to backup hard drive.

• For My Cloud drives, the WD SmartWare backup software is available.

• For My Book or My Passport drives, you can use WD Backup or WD SmartWare backup software.

WD SmartWare vs WD Backup

• For WD TV drives, you could backup data to a NAS included in that drive.

• For WD Elements hard drives (WD Elements Portable/Desktop/SE), there is no any Western Digital backup software comes with hard drive. 

Therefore, if you are planning to backup a WD Elements drive, you might turn to other backup software for help. 

Is There Any Other WD Elements Backup Software?

It does not matter even if WD doesn't provide backup software for WD Element hard drive, because you still can use Windows built-in backup software like File History (Windows 8.1, 10, 11), Windows Backup and Restore (Windows 7, 8.1, 10, 11), and third-party free WD backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard to help you. 

If you don't which one is better, check the comparison form in the following and we list some differences among them:

Windows Backup Software Comparison

• -: unsupported.

• √: supported.

You can easily find that AOMEI Backupper Standard is more powerful and comprehensive backup software for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, and most importantly, it’s free. Then, I'll introduce you some basic info and step by step guide to backup WD Elements hard drive automaticaly.

How to Backup WD Elements Hard Drives Automatically with AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI Backupper Standard can help you backup WD Elements hard drive automatically and effectively with its following advantages. Also, it still supports other useful tools, such as, Create Bootable Media, etc. It's to boot an unbootable computer when it fails. 

AOMEI Backupper

Best Free WD Elements Backup Software

• All-in-one backup software: It allows you to perform file, disk, partition, system backup, and restore them to the original or other locations. And you can even restore individual files from system, disk or partition backup if necessary.

• Schedule Backup: It is capable of creating WD Elements automatic backup in Daily, Weekly, or Monthly, so as to keep an exact copy of your hard drive and any changes made later.

• Incremental Backup: By default, it backs up only changed files since last backup, whether it's full backup or incremental backup, thereby saving much disk space and backup time.

• Support all brands of HDDs and SSDs, like WD, Toshiba, Samsung, HP, ADATA, Maxtor, Kingston, HITACHI, Seagate, etc.

Download Freeware
Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7

100% Secure

(PS: AOMEI Backupper Standard works in Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server.)

First, download this WD backup software and install it on your computer. Prepare an external hard drive to save all the data from WD Elements hard drive and connect it to your computer. 

Then use the backup software for WD Elements to backup WD Elements hard drives automatically. The detailed steps are listed below:

1. On the main console, choose Backup -> Disk Backup.

2. Click Select Source to choose the WD Elements HDD as the source disk. Modify the task name “Disk Backup” if need be.

3. Select the external hard disk to save all the data from WD Elements hard drives.

4. Tap Schedule > Enable Schedule Backup, choose a mode (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event triggers, etc.), and hit OK. Then you can click Start Backup to backup WD Elements hard disk automatically.

🌟 Advanced backup settings you may need:

1️⃣ After a while, you will generate a full WD Elements backup image for the first time, then incremental backup will be performed at the next specified time.

You may notice there is another backup method - differential backup, which backs up only changes as well. For more details, please see: Incremental or Differential Backup.

2️⃣ You may feel good in the beginning, because you don't need to backup WD Elements hard drive manually and worry about any data loss. But in the long run, you may be tired of the backup disk full issue, which prevents you from storing data in it.

To avoid it from start, you can choose to enable automatic backup cleanup methods (By quantity, By time, By daily/weekly/monthly) to delete old backup image files automatically. You need to upgrade to enjoy this feature.

3️⃣ Besides, you could enable email or SMS notification, encrypt (paid), comment, compress, split backup image, use VSS, pre-command and post-command in the Options feature.

Pre-command and post-command are premium features for users to set up or run specified program or script before or after the backup task.

4️⃣ To avoid your computer from not being bootable, you can choose to create bootable USB or recovery environment on your computer first. The latter is to add boot menu to your computer directly, without requiring any storage device.

FAQs about WD Elements Backup Software

1. Does WD Elements come with backup software?

No. Unlike some other WD external drives, WD Elements typically does not include dedicated backup software. You can use Windows Backup, File History, or third-party backup software to protect your files.

2. What is the best backup software for a WD Elements drive?

The best backup software depends on your needs. If you want automatic backups, system image creation, incremental backups, and flexible scheduling, a professional tool such as AOMEI Backupper is a good choice. For basic file backups, Windows File History or Backup and Restore can also work.

3. Can I automatically back up files to a WD Elements drive?

Yes. Most backup software supports scheduled backups. You can configure daily, weekly, or monthly backups so your files are automatically copied to the WD Elements drive without manual intervention.

4. How do I back up my WD Elements drive itself?

If your WD Elements drive contains important data, you can back it up to another external drive, a NAS, or cloud storage using disk backup software. Keeping at least one additional copy follows the 3-2-1 backup rule and helps prevent data loss if the drive is lost or damaged.

Conclusion

As the best free WD Elements backup software for Windows PCs, AOMEI Backupper Standard can help you backup WD drive easily with its complete backup solutions and make it automatic and effective with its other useful features, such as, email notifition, sector-by-sector backup, incremental backup, schedule backup, backup scheme, etc. 

If you would like to create, manage, monitor the backups for all clients within the same LAN in your company, please try AOMEI Cyber Backup.