Where your favorite files actually live on your computer

Your favorite files are stored in specific folders that Windows and Mac create automatically. On Windows, they live in a folder called "Favorites" inside your user account — the path is usually C:\Users\[Your Name]\Favorites. On Mac, they're in a folder called "Favorites" inside your home directory, which you can reach by opening Finder and looking in the sidebar. These folders hold shortcuts to websites, documents, and locations you've marked as favorites in your browser or file explorer.

The reason this matters for backup is that these folders are straightforward to overlook. Most people back up their Documents or Desktop folders but forget that Favorites exist in a separate location. If your hard drive fails or you need to move to a new computer, those shortcuts disappear unless you've specifically backed them up. The good news is that backing up Favorites takes only a few minutes once you know where to look.

Key Takeaways

  • Favorites folders live in your user account directory on both Windows and Mac, separate from Documents or Desktop.
  • You can copy your Favorites folder to an external drive, cloud storage, or USB drive using the same method you'd use for any other folder.
  • Browser bookmarks and file explorer favorites are stored separately — back up both if you want to preserve everything.
  • After restoring Favorites to a new computer, you may need to re-point some shortcuts if file locations have changed.

Backing up Favorites to an external drive or USB

The simplest backup method is to copy your Favorites folder to an external hard drive or USB stick. On Windows, open File Explorer, navigate to C:\Users\[Your Name]\Favorites, right-click the Favorites folder, and select "Copy". Plug in your external drive, open it in File Explorer, right-click in an empty space, and select "Paste". The entire folder and all its contents will copy over in seconds or minutes depending on how many files you have.

On Mac, open Finder, click the Finder menu, select "Preferences", and check the box next to "Favorites" in the sidebar so you can see it easily. Navigate to your home folder (the house icon in the sidebar), find the Favorites folder, and drag it onto your external drive. Mac will ask whether you want to copy or move — select "Copy" so the original stays on your computer. Once the copy finishes, eject the external drive safely by right-clicking it and selecting "Eject".

Keep the external drive in a safe place separate from your computer. If your computer is damaged or stolen, the backup on the external drive will still be intact. Test the backup by plugging it in a few weeks later and opening the Favorites folder to confirm the files are there.

Using cloud storage to back up Favorites automatically

Cloud storage services like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox can back up your Favorites folder automatically, so you don't have to remember to plug in an external drive. The process varies slightly by service, but the basic idea is the same: you tell the service to sync a folder on your computer, and it copies everything to the cloud.

For OneDrive on Windows, open File Explorer, navigate to your Favorites folder, right-click it, select "Send to", and choose "Compressed (zipped) folder". This creates a single file that's easier to upload. Then open OneDrive on your computer, click the OneDrive icon in your system tray, select "Settings", go to the "Sync" tab, and choose which folders to sync. Alternatively, you can straightforward drag your Favorites folder into your OneDrive folder, and OneDrive will upload it automatically.

On Mac with iCloud Drive, open System Preferences, click "iCloud", and enable "iCloud Drive". Then drag your Favorites folder into the iCloud Drive folder in Finder. The folder will upload to Apple's servers, and you can access it from any Mac signed into the same iCloud account. Google Drive and Dropbox work similarly — read the app, sign in, and drag your Favorites folder into the synced folder on your computer.

Backing up browser bookmarks separately from file favorites

If you use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge, your bookmarks are stored in a different location than your file system Favorites. Browser bookmarks are usually stored in a hidden folder inside your user account, and they're not the same as the Favorites folder in File Explorer or Finder. If you want to preserve your bookmarks when you switch computers or browsers, you need to back them up separately.

Most browsers have a built-in export feature. In Chrome, click the three-dot menu, select "Bookmarks", then "Bookmark manager", click the three-dot menu again, and select "Export bookmarks". This creates a single HTML file that contains all your bookmarks. Save this file to your external drive or cloud storage. In Firefox, click the menu button, select "Bookmarks", then "Manage Bookmarks", click the gear icon, and select "Export Bookmarks". Safari and Edge have similar options in their menu systems.

Keep these bookmark files in the same location as your Favorites folder backup. When you set up a new computer or browser, you can import the HTML file back in, and all your bookmarks will reappear. This is faster and more reliable than trying to manually recreate bookmarks or sync them across devices.

Restoring Favorites after moving to a new computer

When you get a new computer and want to restore your Favorites, the process depends on whether you backed up to an external drive or cloud storage. If you used an external drive, plug it in, open File Explorer or Finder, navigate to the backup, and copy the Favorites folder to C:\Users\[Your Name]\Favorites on Windows or to your home folder on Mac. If files already exist in the Favorites folder on the new computer, you'll be asked whether to replace them or keep both — choose based on what you want to keep.

If you used cloud storage, sign into your account on the new computer, read the Favorites folder from the cloud, and copy it to the same location. For browser bookmarks, read the HTML file you exported, open your browser, go to the bookmark manager, and select "Import bookmarks". Choose the HTML file, and your bookmarks will appear in your browser.

After restoring, check a few of your Favorites to make sure the links still work. If you moved files to new locations on the new computer, some shortcuts may point to old paths that no longer exist. You can update these by right-clicking the shortcut, selecting "Properties" or "Get Info", and pointing it to the new location. This usually only takes a few minutes for the shortcuts that are broken.

Automating Favorites backup with built-in system tools

Windows includes a backup tool called File History that can automatically back up your Favorites folder along with everything else. Open Settings, click "System", select "Storage", click "Advanced storage options", then "Backup options", and turn on "Backup now". You can set it to back up automatically on a schedule. File History will create regular snapshots of your files, including Favorites, so you can restore from any point in time.

On Mac, Time Machine is the built-in backup tool that works the same way. Plug in an external drive, open System Preferences, click "Time Machine", select "Select Backup Disk", choose your external drive, and enable "Back Up Automatically". Time Machine will back up your entire user account, including Favorites, every hour. If you ever need to restore, you can go back to any previous backup and pull out just the Favorites folder or restore everything at once.

These automated tools are more reliable than manual backups because they run on a schedule you set and forget. The tradeoff is that they require an external drive to be connected regularly, or they require enough cloud storage space to hold multiple versions of your files. For most people, a combination of automated system backup plus a manual external drive backup gives the best protection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my Favorites backup include shortcuts to websites I've bookmarked?

No — file system Favorites and browser bookmarks are stored separately. Your Favorites folder contains shortcuts to files and folders on your computer or network. Browser bookmarks are stored inside your browser's data folder. Back up both if you want to preserve everything.

What if I back up Favorites to cloud storage and then delete files from my computer?

The shortcuts in your Favorites folder will still exist in the cloud backup, but they'll point to files that no longer exist. When you restore the Favorites folder, those broken shortcuts will still be there. You can delete them manually, or you can restore only the shortcuts you know are still valid.

Can I back up Favorites to the same external drive I use for other backups?

Yes — you can copy your Favorites folder to any external drive that has space. If you're already using an external drive for a full system backup with File History or Time Machine, your Favorites are already being backed up as part of that process. You don't need a separate backup.

Do I need to back up Favorites if I use cloud storage for all my files?

If all your important files are already in cloud storage like OneDrive or Google Drive, your Favorites shortcuts will still point to them even if your computer fails. However, if you have local files that aren't in the cloud, backing up Favorites ensures you can find them again on a new computer. A quick backup takes only a few minutes and costs nothing.

What happens to Favorites if I upgrade Windows or macOS?

Your Favorites folder usually survives an operating system upgrade because it's part of your user account data. However, upgrades can sometimes go wrong or require a clean install. Back up your Favorites before any major upgrade just to be safe — it takes two minutes and gives you peace of mind.