Why Is My Windows 10 Backup Taking So Long? (Here's the Answer)

Jerry updated on Jan 12, 2024 to Backup and Recovery | How-to Articles

Why is my Windows 10 backup taking so long? Do you want to know why? If yes, you are coming to the right page. This article will explain the reasons for the slow backup of Windows 10 and offer an alternative to Windows 10 backup.

The Windows native backup tools, such as Backup and Restore and File History, can help computer users back up their data to avoid data loss. But the Windows backup sometimes is very slow. Why is my Windows 10 backup taking so long? Have you ever been in such a situation? If yes, it is time to find out what causes the Windows 10 backup slow and how to deal with it.

Why Is My Windows 10 Backup Slow

Why does Windows 10 take so long to do a backup? When creating a backup, how long it will take matters. If a Windows 10 backup speed is so slow, it may be one of the following reasons:

  • Fragmented drive. Severe drive fragmentation will affect system performance, thus increasing the time it takes to run a backup. 
  • Data size. The more data needs to back up, the longer a backup will take.
  • Network connection. When you create a backup over a network, the network performance may impact the backup.
  • Media failure. The type of media for the backup will affect the backup time. And recordable media will take a longer time for a backup than a high-speed hard drive.
  • Viruses and malware. Computer viruses may be one of the things many people suspect when performance degrades. And infections can also slow backups.

Is Windows 10 Backup Any Good

Windows has the built-in backup utility pre-installed on your computer. For example, many versions of Windows involve backup tools that allow users to make backups of files and folders. Windows 10 is no exception; it offers two backup options for its users. They are Backup and Restore (Windows 7) and File History.

Backup and Restore was introduced in Windows 7. It has been one of the widely used backup tools for Windows users since then. It can take a snapshot of data stored on your hard disk and create an image. File History was introduced to users when Windows 8 made its public debut. It can help Windows users back up diverse files, such as documents, videos, pictures, music, desktop folders, etc. But is Windows 10 backup any good?

Generally speaking, Windows 10 backup is good but needs improvement or more. Backup and Restore and File History can meet your basic backup needs, but they are less fully featured than you want. The Backup and Restore only offers "Let Me Choose" and "Let Windows Choose." On the other hand, File History can only back up files from your user account, which means if you want to back up your entire system, it can no longer satisfy your needs. Besides, it cannot back up an open file.

Alternative to Windows 10 Native Backup Tools

Since Windows 10 backup utilities have some unsatisfactory points, it is necessary to have other supplementary measures for creating a backup on your Windows computer. In this regard, professional backup software, like EaseUS Todo Backup, is a good idea.

EaseUS Todo Backup Home can solve the limitations of Windows 10 native backup tools, such as the Windows 10 backup speed being so slow. For example, it can help users quickly and automatically back up different file types, such as videos, music, documents, images, etc. Besides, it can also help you back up the operating system, disk, partition, etc. It can also allow you to create an iso image from a hard drive and back up SSD to an image. The following are some other features:

The following are the detailed steps to make a system backup of your Windows 10 computer.

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Todo Backup on your computer, and click Create Backup on the home screen and then hit the big question mark to select backup contents.

Step 2. To back up your Windows operating system, click "OS" to begin the backup task.

Step 3. Your Windows operating system information and all system related files and partitions will be automatically selected so you don't need to do any manual selection at this step. Next, you'll need to choose a location to save the system image backup by clicking the illustrated area.

Step 4. The backup location can be another local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, network, cloud or NAS. Generally, we recommend you use an external physical drive or cloud to preserve the system backup files. 

Step 5. Customiztion settings like enabling an automatic backup schedule in daily, weekly, monthly, or upon an event, and making a differential and incremental backup are available in the Options button if you're interested. Click "Backup Now", and the Windows system backup process will begin. The completed backup task will display on the left side in a card style.

Final Words

Why is my Windows 10 backup taking so long? Have you gotten your answer? Windows 10 backup speed being so slow has many factors. If you are in such circumstances, you can check the scenarios mentioned above to help you solve problems.

But as far as I am concerned, using professional backup software will be an easy way to deal with a long Windows 10 backup process. EaseUS Todo Backup will be an excellent helper to back up everything on your Windows computers to protect data security. Just try it!

FAQs

1. How do I know if my backup is good?

You can use a few files from the full backup to verify a backup. You may quickly determine whether backup data is accurate by restoring a few chosen files to an alternative location and comparing their contents to the original. This would provide a quick snapshot of the data's validity.

2. What does a Windows 10 backup contain?

A Windows 10 backup is usually a system image. A system image is another name for "full backup," which contains a copy of everything on the Windows computer, including the settings, apps, and files.

3. How do I know if my Windows 10 backup has been completed?

Double-click on the target backup drive in File Explorer, choose This PC from the drop-down menu, then check to see if Windows 10 File History is backing up your data. To access properties, right-click on the File History folder. A progress bar and details about the file size should be available on the screen if the backup procedure is ongoing.

4. How do I backup my entire Windows computer?

Click on Start, type backup in the Search box, and click on Backup and Restore. Click on Back up files under Back up files or your entire computer. Choose where to save the file backup, and click Next. An easier way is to use professional backup software, like EaseUS Todo Backup, to create a system image of your Windows computer in a few clicks.