Le disque dur externe contient la sauvegarde.

Because disque is a masculine noun in French, so it takes le in the singular.

The usual word order is:

• disque dur = hard drive
• disque dur externe = external hard drive

French often puts many adjectives after the noun, and in this expression dur and externe both come after disque.

So the whole phrase is built like this:

• le = the
• disque = disk/drive
• dur = hard
• externe = external

It is simply the standard French term. French often translates compound technical nouns more literally than English does:

• disque = disk
• dur = hard

So disque dur is the normal way to say hard drive.

Even if English speakers think of hard drive as one fixed unit, French builds it as a noun plus adjective phrase.

In French, many adjectives come after the noun, especially:

• technical adjectives
• descriptive/classifying adjectives
• words like externe, interne, national, important in many contexts

So:

• un disque externe = an external drive
• un disque dur externe = an external hard drive

This is normal French word order.

Contient is the third-person singular present tense of the verb contenir, which means to contain.

So:

• je contiens = I contain
• tu contiens = you contain
• il / elle / on contient = he / she / one contains

Here the subject is Le disque dur externe, which is singular, so French uses contient.

Because this sentence uses the present indicative, the normal tense for stating a fact.

• contient = present tense, contains
• contienne = subjunctive form, used in very different sentence structures
• contenu = past participle, meaning contained or used in compound tenses

So Le disque dur externe contient la sauvegarde means The external hard drive contains the backup in a straightforward present-tense statement.

Because sauvegarde is a feminine noun, so it takes la.

• la sauvegarde = the backup

This noun often refers to:

• a backup copy of data
• the act/process of saving or backing up data, depending on context

In this sentence, it most naturally means the backup.

Often yes, but the exact nuance depends on context.

In computing, sauvegarde can mean:

• a backup copy
• a backup file
• the backup process

In this sentence, since it is something the hard drive contains, the most natural interpretation is the backup data / the backup copy.

Sometimes in informal tech speech, English words do appear, but sauvegarde is the standard and correct French term.

For a learner, sauvegarde is the word you should know and use.

French is using a different structure here.

This sentence literally says:

• The external hard drive contains the backup

English could express the same situation in several ways:

• The external hard drive contains the backup.
• The backup is on the external hard drive.
• The backup is stored on the external hard drive.

French chose contient, which focuses on what is inside or stored on the drive.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

luh deesk dur ekz-tehrn kon-tyan lah sohv-gard

A few important points:

• le is usually a short luh
• disque sounds roughly like deesk
• dur has the French u sound, which is difficult for English speakers
• externe begins with a sound like egz-
• contient is nasal at the end: kon-tyan
• sauvegarde sounds roughly like sohv-gard

If you want to sound more natural, focus especially on:

• French u in dur
• the nasal sound in contient
• the smooth linking of the whole sentence, rather than pronouncing every word separately

Usually, no important obligatory liaison is made here.

For example:

• dur externe: generally no liaison pronunciation of the final r into the next word beyond the normal r
• contient la: no liaison
• la sauvegarde: no liaison

So you can pronounce the words separately in a normal flow without worrying about special linking here.

Yes. In the plural it becomes:

• les disques durs externes

Notice that all the relevant words change:

• le → les
• disque → disques
• dur → durs
• externe → externes

Example:

• Les disques durs externes contiennent les sauvegardes.
• The external hard drives contain the backups.

Because in French, adjectives still agree in number with the noun, even in common expressions like disque dur.

So:

• singular: un disque dur
• plural: des disques durs

Then if you add externe, it also agrees:

• singular: un disque dur externe
• plural: des disques durs externes

No. Contenir is an irregular verb, related to tenir.

That is why the form contient may not look predictable if you only know regular -ir verbs.

Some present-tense forms are:

• je contiens
• tu contiens
• il/elle contient
• nous contenons
• vous contenez
• ils/elles contiennent

It is a good verb to learn as a pattern related to tenir.

Grammatically, la sauvegarde is singular, so yes, it refers to one backup or one specific backup.

But in real context, singular nouns can sometimes represent something more general or collective, depending on the situation.

Still, the most direct reading is:

• the backup
• one identifiable backup

If you wanted plural, you would say:

• Le disque dur externe contient les sauvegardes.
• The external hard drive contains the backups.

Yes, it can. In computing and gaming contexts, sauvegarde can refer to:

• a backup
• a save file
• the act of saving

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, because of disque dur externe, the meaning is much more likely backup rather than a game save.

Yes, it is perfectly natural and grammatical.

However, depending on context, a native speaker might also say things like:

• La sauvegarde se trouve sur le disque dur externe.
• The backup is on the external hard drive.

or

• Le disque dur externe stocke la sauvegarde.
• The external hard drive stores the backup.

So your sentence is natural, but it is just one possible way to express the idea.