Create a Shortcut on the Desktop
To use the drag and drop method to effectively back up your system daily and to remind you to do so, you should create a shortcut to the device on your desktop. You’ll use that shortcut to drag and drop to. Here, I’ll outline two procedures for doing that: the first, to create a desktop shortcut for an external drive that is connected directly to your PC, and the second, to create a desktop shortcut for an external drive that is connected to another PC. (Note that another PC can serve as a backup device too.)
To create a shortcut to an external hard drive that is connected directly to your computer, follow these steps:
1. Open My Computer, right-click the icon for the external drive, and select Create Shortcut.
2. When prompted to create a shortcut on the Desktop, click Yes.
To create a shortcut to an external hard drive that is connected to another, networked, computer, do this:
1. Open My Computer.
2. From the Tools menu, select Map Network Drive.
3. Click Browse.
4. Locate the backup device, select it, and click OK.
5. Click Finish. The drive will open automatically.
6. In My Computer, right-click the new network drive and select Create Shortcut.
7. Click Yes when prompted to place that shortcut on the Desktop.