How to Backup SharePoint to External Hard Drive

If you are wondering how to backup SharePoint to external hard drive, there are several ways to do it. You can manually download SharePoint files, sync a SharePoint library with OneDrive and then copy the local files to an external drive, or use dedicated software for larger backups.

In this guide, I’ll explain all the possible approaches, and then you can decide which method suits your requirements. So, let’s start our discussion with the reasons behind this.

Why Backup SharePoint to an External Hard Drive?

SharePoint is a document management platform. It allows users to store and access files from different devices. However, organizations still want a local copy of their data for several reasons:

Want to access data when it is lost from the SharePoint library due to accidental deletion or data breaches.
Need to maintain a local archive of business documents for long-term access.
Prepare for SharePoint migration.
Want to access data without internet or reduce dependency on a single cloud environment.
Preserve important files before deleting them in SharePoint due to restructuring.

However, downloading a few files is different from creating a complete SharePoint backup. A proper backup should consider not only files and folders but also document libraries, metadata, permissions, and version history, depending on your requirements.

Next, we’ll learn what you can back up from SharePoint.

What Can You Backup From SharePoint to an External Hard Drive?

Depending on the method you use, you can save or export different types of SharePoint content:

SharePoint documents
Word files
Excel spreadsheets
PowerPoint presentations
PDF files
Images
Videos
Project files
Document libraries
Folders and subfolders
Shared files
Microsoft Teams files stored in SharePoint
Site assets
Archived project documents

So, these are the main data category, which we can back up. Next, I’ll guide you on how to back up these.

How to Backup SharePoint to External Hard Drive?

If you want to create a local copy of SharePoint documents on an external hard drive, you can use the following methods:

Download SharePoint files and folders directly to an external hard drive
Sync SharePoint with OneDrive
Use PowerShell/PnP PowerShell
Use dedicated software

The best method depends on your export requirements, because every approach works differently.

Below, I’ll provide details and step-by-step instructions for each method:

#Method 1. Download SharePoint Files Directly to an External Hard Drive

The easiest way to back up SharePoint data is to download files or folders directly from a SharePoint document library.

This method works well when you need to back up selected SharePoint files. When you select multiple files or folders for download, SharePoint creates a ZIP download.

Microsoft currently documents a 20 GB limit for auto-generated ZIP downloads, and the individual file size limit is 250 GB.

Now, follow this simple set of instructions:

Step 1. Connect your external HDD or SSD to the computer.

Once Windows recognizes the drive, note its drive letter. For example:

*E:*
or
*F:*

Create a separate folder for the backup, such as:

E:\SP Backup

Step 2. Sign in to your Microsoft 365 account and open the SharePoint site to back up data.

Go to the required document library, for example: SharePoint Site > Documents > Project Files

Step 3. Select the files or folders to save. You can select:

Individual files
Multiple files
Individual folders
Multiple folders

Step 4. Select Download from the SharePoint toolbar. If you selected multiple files or folders, SharePoint packages them into a ZIP file for download. You can decompress that file after downloading.

Step 5. When your browser asks where to save the file, select the external hard drive as the destination.

For example:

E:\SharePoint Backup\Project Files

If the browser automatically saves the download to your computer’s Downloads folder, then you have to drag and drop that downloaded ZIP file to the external hard drive afterwards.

Step 6. If the downloaded content is provided as a ZIP archive:

Open the external hard drive.
Find the downloaded ZIP file.
Right-click the file.
Select Extract All.
Select a destination folder on the external hard drive.
Extract the files.

Now, you can access the available local copy on the external hard drive.

Remember, Microsoft’s current SharePoint limits include a 250 GB maximum individual file size and a 20 GB limit for auto-generated ZIP downloads.

Therefore, this method is best suited for small document libraries or one-time exports.

Also read: SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant Migration

#Method 2. Sync SharePoint with OneDrive and Copy the Files to an External Hard Drive

If you regularly work with SharePoint files, another option is to synchronize the SharePoint document library with the OneDrive sync client and then copy the locally available files to an external hard drive.

Microsoft supports syncing SharePoint libraries so that they appear in File Explorer on the computer. This allows users to work with SharePoint files from the local file system.

However, there is an important point to understand:

Syncing SharePoint with OneDrive is not the same as directly syncing SharePoint with an external hard drive.

What I’m trying to say, you will understand through these steps:

Step 1. Open the SharePoint site and document library where the files are stored to copy.

Step 2. Select Sync from the document library to make the SharePoint library available through File Explorer.

Step 3. If prompted, sign in with your Microsoft 365 work or school account, and allow OneDrive to complete the synchronization setup.

Step 4. Open File Explorer and find the synchronized SharePoint library.

Step 5. OneDrive Files On-Demand can show SharePoint files in File Explorer without downloading their contents to the computer. Before copying the data to an external drive, select the required files or folders, right-click them, and choose:

Always keep on this device to make the files available locally.

Step 6. Allow OneDrive to finish downloading the selected files.

Step 7. Connect the external HDD or SSD to your computer.

Create a folder such as:

E:\SP Backup

Step 8. Open the synchronized SharePoint library in File Explorer. Select the required files or folders, right-click, and select Copy.

Step 9. Open the backup folder on the external hard drive and select Paste.

That’s it! You can now access your SharePoint data from the external hard drive. This method is better than the previous one, as it syncs the current data. So, you can consider this approach for archiving purposes also.

One thing I have to clarify: any changes in the SharePoint document library reflects on local OneDrive as they are syncing. This means any file deleted from SharePoint will not show locally until you copy that content to the external hard drive.

#Method 3. Use PowerShell/PnP PowerShell to Download SharePoint Files to an External Hard Drive

For administrators and technical users, PowerShell with PnP PowerShell provides another way to export SharePoint files to local storage.

PnP PowerShell provides commands such as Get-PnPFile for downloading SharePoint files to a local path. It also provides commands such as Get-PnPFolderItem and Get-PnPFileInFolder for listing files and folders.

This makes this approach the best when you want automation in the backup procedure.

Before using this method, you need:

A Windows computer
PowerShell
PnP PowerShell
Appropriate SharePoint permission levels
The SharePoint site URL
The document library or folder path
An external hard drive with sufficient storage

Once you have the required permissions, follow these steps to download SharePoint files to the external drive:

Step 1. Open Windows PowerShell or PowerShell 7 with the required permissions and install the PnP PowerShell module.

Install-Module PnP.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser

If PowerShell asks to install the module from the PowerShell Gallery, confirm the installation.

Step 2. Use Connect-PnPOnline to connect to the SharePoint site.

For an interactive sign-in, use:

Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Project" -Interactive

After authentication, PowerShell connects to the specified SharePoint site.

Step 3. Before downloading anything, find the document library or folder to back up.

You can use PnP PowerShell to inspect the contents of a folder.

Get-PnPFolderItem -FolderSiteRelativeUrl "Shared Documents"

To include subfolders, use:

Get-PnPFolderItem -FolderSiteRelativeUrl "Shared Documents" -Recursive

Step 4. Connect the external hard drive to the computer and find its drive letter. Create a dedicated folder for the backup:

E:\SP Backup

You can create it from PowerShell with:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "E:\SP Backup" -Force

Step 5. The Get-PnPFile cmdlet can download a SharePoint file and save it to a specified local path. It supports the -Path, -Filename, and -AsFile parameters for this purpose:

Get-PnPFile `
-Url "/sites/Project/Shared Documents/Report.docx" `
-Path "E:\SP Backup" `
-Filename "Report.docx" `
-AsFile

The file will be saved to:

E:\SP Backup\Report.docx

You can also use the complete SharePoint file URL:

Get-PnPFile `
-Url "https://company.sharepoint.com/sites/Project/Shared Documents/Report.docx" `
-Path "E:\SP Backup" `
-Filename "Report.docx" `
-AsFile

Step 6. If you need to download multiple files rather than a single document, first retrieve the files from the required SharePoint folder:

$files = Get-PnPFileInFolder -FolderSiteRelativeUrl "Shared Documents/Projects/2026"

You can then process the returned files and download them to the external drive.

$destination = "E:\SP Backup"
$files = Get-PnPFileInFolder -FolderSiteRelativeUrl "Shared Documents/Projects/2026"
foreach ($file in $files) {
    Get-PnPFile `
    -Url $file.ServerRelativeUrl `
    -Path $destination `
    -Filename $file.Name `
    -AsFile `
    -Force
}

This retrieves the files from the specified SharePoint folder and saves them to the external hard drive.

Step 7. For a SharePoint document library containing multiple folders and subfolders, use Get-PnPFileInFolder with -Recurse:

$files = Get-PnPFileInFolder `
-List "Documents" `
-Recurse `
-ExcludeSystemFolders

A more practical backup script can create the corresponding local folder structure before downloading each file:

$destination = "E:\SP Backup"
$files = Get-PnPFileInFolder `
-List "Documents" `
-Recurse `
-ExcludeSystemFolders
foreach ($file in $files) {
    $serverRelativeUrl = $file.ServerRelativeUrl
    $libraryPath = "/sites/Project/Documents"
    $relativePath = $serverRelativeUrl.Substring($libraryPath.Length).TrimStart("/")
    $localFile = Join-Path $destination $relativePath
    $localFolder = Split-Path $localFile -Parent
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $localFolder -Force | Out-Null
    Get-PnPFile `
    -Url $serverRelativeUrl `
    -Path $localFolder `
    -Filename $file.Name `
    -AsFile `
    -Force
}

This approach is useful when you want the local backup with the complete folder hierarchy of the SharePoint document library.

Step 8. After completing the backup, you can close the PnP PowerShell connection:

Disconnect-PnPOnline

I know this approach is technical, but if you follow the cmdlets correctly, it genuinely helps you to backup SharePoint to external hard drive automatically.

#Method 4. How to Backup SharePoint to External Hard Drive Via Specialized Backup Software

When you need to back up a large amount of SharePoint data to an external hard drive, manually downloading files or running PowerShell scripts can become time-consuming and complex.

In this situation, a specialized tool will back up a complete SharePoint document library in a few clicks, without repetitive steps or cmdlets.

One such option I found and tried is SysTools SharePoint Online Backup Tool. It helps to back up SharePoint Online document libraries, including files, folders, and subfolders, to local storage.

Download Now Purchase Now

You can select the required SharePoint libraries and specify a local destination path, i.e., an external drive, USB flash drive, hard drive, NAS, or any other local folder.

I found numerous salient features in this, such as:

Date Filter for specific data backup.
Delta/Incremental backup option to back up only newly arrived data.
Backup any type of file extension, including PDF, PPTX, Word, XLSX, and more.
Bulk option to backup SharePoint data in one go, which saves time and effort.
Maintains the complete folder hierarchy.
Compatible with Windows 10/11 (64-bit).

Not only that, but there are several advanced features available in this that can make the backup process a breeze.

After downloading this, follow these steps to backup SharePoint to external hard drive:

Step 1. Connect the external HDD or SSD to your Windows computer and make sure it has enough free space to store the backup. For example, if your external drive is E:, create a folder like this: E:\SP Backup

Step 2. Install and launch the tool on your Windows computer.

Step 3. Select the document library and utilize Date Filter option if needed.

Step 4. Now, provide the Microsoft 365 admin credentials.

Step 4. Afterwards, select the destination as an external hard drive by clicking on the Backup Folder Path option.

Step 5. Press the “Start Backup” button to begin the export.

SysTools provides both summary and detailed reports. This makes it easier to verify and audit whether the backup completed successfully.

Related article: Migrate SharePoint List to Another Site

Author’s Verdict

There are multiple ways to backup SharePoint to external hard drive, and the right approach depends on your data volume and backup requirements.

For a small number of files, you can simply download and save SharePoint files directly to the external drive. However, for large data sets, manual downloading does not work accurately, so opting for a specialized solution is the best option to save time and prevent data loss.

How to Backup SharePoint to External Hard Drive – Copy Files & Folders