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Why avoid paid backup software?

Because if all you need is to regularly copy your folders to an external drive, paying €49/year for a shiny interface is overkill.
Windows and Linux already have everything you need onboard.
You just have to know where to look — and that’s what we’re here for.

✅ The Goal

Set up an automated backup system for your:

• documents

• photos

• important folders

…to an external USB hard drive, in a totally automatic, safe and free way.
Works on both Windows 10/11 and Linux (Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, etc.).

🧩 Method 1 – Windows only (Robocopy + Task Scheduler)

📁 Step 1 – Connect your external drive

• Plug it into your PC via USB

• Note the drive letter, e.g. E:\

• Create a backup folder, like E:\BackupZero

✍️ Step 2 – Create a batch file

1. Open Notepad

2. Paste this code:

robocopy "C:\Users\YourName\Documents" "E:\BackupZero\Documents" /MIR /R:1 /W:5 /LOG:"E:\BackupZero\log.txt"

3. Save as: backup_auto.bat

4. File type: All files

5. Save it somewhere like: C:\Scripts

📌 /MIR mirrors the folder (adds new files, deletes removed ones)
📌 /R:1 retries once if it fails, /W:5 waits 5 seconds between attempts

⏱️ Step 3 – Automate with Task Scheduler

1. Search for “Task Scheduler” in the Start menu

2. Create a new task

3. In General tab:

   • Name: BackupZero

   • Run with highest privileges

4. In Triggers:

   • Choose “At log on” or “At disk insertion” (advanced)

5. In Actions:

   • Run: C:\Scripts\backup_auto.bat

👉 Done! Now your backup runs on schedule or when the drive is connected.

🐧 Method 2 – Linux only (rsync + cron)

📁 Step 1 – Detect the external drive

Plug in your USB drive and run:

lsblk

Find the correct name, e.g. /dev/sdb1, and mount point like /media/username/BackupZero.

Double check with:

df -h

📦 Step 2 – Install rsync (if missing)

sudo apt install rsync

✍️ Step 3 – Create the backup script

Open your favorite editor, e.g. Nano:

nano ~/backupzero.sh

Write this:

#!/bin/bash

SRC="/home/your-user/Documents"

DEST="/media/your-user/BackupZero/Documents"

rsync -av --delete "$SRC/" "$DEST/"

Save and make it executable:

chmod +x ~/backupzero.sh

⏱️ Step 4 – Add it to your crontab

Open the crontab:

crontab -e

Add this line:

0 20 * * * /home/your-user/backupzero.sh

👉 That’s a backup every day at 8:00 PM.

You can also trigger it on disk insertion using udev rules, but that requires extra steps (let me know if you need them).

🔐 Logs & Security

• Limit access to the script: chmod 700

• Add a log file for every run:

Windows:

/LOG+:"E:\BackupZero\log.txt"

Linux:

rsync ... >> /media/your-user/BackupZero/log.txt

📌 Final tips

• If your drive letter changes (e.g. E:\ becomes F:), update the script

• Use specific folders, don’t back up the entire disk

• Avoid tools that delete everything if the drive isn’t detected

• Test your backup system before relying on it fully

✅ In short

You now have a complete guide to back up your files automatically to an external drive — using only built-in tools and zero cost.

Flexible, reliable, and fully customizable.

ZeroCrash