[Article] How to Perform a Backup Using File History in Windows 11 or Windows 10

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If you recently picked up an external drive, one of the great things you can use it for is backing your computers. There are many ways to do this, you could format the drive then drag and drop or copy and paste files to it. If you work with a lot files though, there are automated solutions built into Windows 11 and earlier versions that can make the process less tedious. In this article we are going to take a look using File History to backup your Windows device.

File History, first introduced in Windows 8, is a way to keep backup versions of local files automatically. You can backup to either a Network Attached Storage or local external USB hard disk. Because external drives are so cheap, its recommended you invest in a large enough drive store as much data.

Depending on the version of Windows you are running, finding File History backup will be different. Below are steps to find and start File History in Windows 11 or Windows 10:

Windows 11:

Open Settings, in the search box, type: File History

or

Press Windows key + R

Type: control

Under System and Security click on Save backup copies of your files with File History

Windows 10:

Click Start > Settings > Update & Security > Backup

Toggle on Automatically backup files then click on More options

Here you can customize what gets backed up. If there is a folder you want to exclude from the backup, select it then click Remove.

If there is a specific folder you want to exclude from the back up, scroll down then click Add folder, browse then select then folder you want to exclude.

If you want to perform the opposite by adding a folder, scroll to the top then click on Add a folder

When you are ready to backup, click the 'Backup Now' button. You can also change the intervals for your backup, whether you want to happen in minutes, hourly or daily or weekly.

File History works in the background, there is nothing else for you the user to do. If do disconnect the external drive then reconnect it at a later time, it will just continue backing up new versions of your files.

External Drive Low on Space?

If you decide to keep older versions of your files on top of creating new files, then your external drive will eventually run out of space. File History includes the option to move your File History Backup to a larger external drive. Start by connecting the the current File History drive and the new external drive where you want to move the backup. Launch the classic Control Panel which you can open multiple ways:

Press Windows key + R

Type: control

Hit Enter

Click on System and Security > File History.

or

Change the view options to Large icons then click File History

Click on  Select drive.

Select the new drive and then under Select an existing backup, click the existing backup of your PC.

Click OK.

Choose between Yes or No to move the existing files and use if continuously for File History.

File History will automatically move your backup over to the new drive. Please note, this can take a long time and some large files can result in errors. I personally had issues moving a Hyper-V VM over. You might want to consider removing troublesome files from the backup if this happens.

Restore Files from a File History Backup

In case of a catastrophic failure, you can use File History to restore backup copies of your files. Also, if you purchase a new computer, you can use File History to restore your files to the new device. For this example below, we are going to restore files from a File History backup created in Windows 10 on a Windows 11 device.

First, connect the external device containing your File History backup.

Open Settings, in the search box, type: File History

Click Restore personal files

File History presents a File Explorer like interface with media controls at the bottom of the window that will let you go through versions of your files and folders and restore them.

If you want to restore just one file or folder, you can select it then click green Restore button. You can also check off a group of files and restore them.

Once a file restored, it should show up in the original location in your local File Explorer folder.

Windows also includes other backup options in addition File History.