Windows 10: Local USB Backup Drive moved to Network Drive ?

Windows 10 Pro Version 10.0.19041 Build 19041

I have a 4TB USB drive I'm currently using for Windows File Backup.
I want to move this to a NAS Drive configuration using a Raspberry Pi using this tutorial:
How to Turn a Raspberry Pi into a Low-Power Network Storage Device

My 4TB USB Drive will be attached to the Raspberry Pi via USB as an NTFS drive with the proper drivers installed on the Pi so that can still be used as NTFS.

Since I already have File Backup data on this drive, will Windows continue to use that data and append to it even through it's over the network instead of direct USB?
Or, will it force me to create a new folder on the 4TB Drive?
Or (worst case), will I loose everything on the 4TB Drive and I have to start over again?

Thank you for your help.

:)

 

Local USB Backup Drive moved to Network Drive ?

Windows 10 Pro Version 10.0.19041 Build 19041

I have a 4TB USB drive I'm currently using for Windows File Backup.
I want to move this to a NAS Drive configuration using a Raspberry Pi using this tutorial:
How to Turn a Raspberry Pi into a Low-Power Network Storage Device

My 4TB USB Drive will be attached to the Raspberry Pi via USB as an NTFS drive with the proper drivers installed on the Pi so that can still be used as NTFS.

Since I already have File Backup data on this drive, will Windows continue to use that data and append to it even through it's over the network instead of direct USB?
Or, will it force me to create a new folder on the 4TB Drive?
Or (worst case), will I loose everything on the 4TB Drive and I have to start over again?

Thank you for your help.

 

Local USB Backup Drive moved to Network Drive ?

Sorry, should have stated I am using "Back Up using File History"

If I test this using a USB Drive. Then this really will break the chain of history I have on my 4TB drive. So when I plug the 4TB drive back in (either via Direct USB or Network share), I'm almost positive Windows will force me to make a new backup folder for a new history set - thus duplicating a lot of data already on the 4TB drive and wasting a lot of time and space.

If Windows doesn't seamlessly detect the existing File History backup folder when I move it to a network connection and continue to to File History Backups to it just as before (without creating a new backup set), then I don't want to do this. I'll just keep plugging and unplugging my 4TB USB drive into my PC every time Windows nags me to do so.

But if I try it, either with my current 4TB drive or a test USB stick on the network, and it doesn't work (ie: it forces the creation of a new File History Folder), then even if I go back to direct USB connection, it still won't use the original File History Folder and I'm still screwed.

Hope someone has already tried this and can tell me what Windows will actually do.

Thanks.

 

Using network hard drive for backup

It depends what sort of backup you want to do. If you're happy just backing up regular files, then there are a bazillion (really, that many!) different bits of freeware to do that. There is a good list here:

Download Back Up Tools for Windows - MajorGeeks

and pretty much all of them can do network backups. Some even have fancy options like encryption. Really, the most useful thing is just being able to schedule them and know they ran OK.

You may also want to make a system image backup too, and you'll find that software in the very same list.

I don't have Windows 8 as yet, so I'm afraid I can't suggest any for that platform. Personally, I use Clonezilla for image backups.