How to Make a Mirror Folder on an External Drive

Make an exact copy of your hard drive.

A mirror folder is an exact copy of a CD, flash drive or hard drive. If you want to copy the information of your current drive as a backup service you may do so on any other drive on the computer, ranging from a built-in hard drive to a different external hard drive. Whatever you use, the entire process may range from a few minutes to an hour or two, depending on how much data is saved on the external hard drive.

Instructions

1. Connect the external hard drive to your computer. This is typically done with the aid of a USB flash drive. Power on the drive and the computer states it has detected a new, removable device.

2. Right-click in the location you want to create the mirror folder and choose "Create New" and "Folder." A new folder icon appears on the screen. Type in a title for the mirror folder and press "Enter."

3. Click "Start" and (My) "Computer" and double-click the external drive icon. A window opens with all of the files currently stored on the drive.

4. Click-and-drag all of the files in the external hard drive to the newly created folder. This copies all of the contents to the folder.

5. Disconnect the external hard drive from your computer.

References

• Top Bits: How to Use an External Hard Drive