How to set up and use Windows File History to automatically back up your personal files

General IT KB-282

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to set up and use Windows File History to automatically back up your personal files. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

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Common Causes

Windows File History is a built-in backup feature that automatically saves copies of files in your Documents, Pictures, Desktop, and other personal folders to an external drive. Once configured, it runs in the background on a schedule, giving you a simple way to recover earlier versions of files or restore items that have been lost, deleted, or overwritten. This guide walks you through setting it up and using it on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

What You'll Need

A Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC
An external drive (USB hard drive, SSD, or USB flash drive) with enough free space to hold your personal files
A few minutes to complete the initial setup

File History will only back up files stored in your user profile folders by default (such as Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Videos, and Music). Files saved elsewhere, such as on a separate drive partition or in program folders, are not included unless you add them manually.

Quick Fix Steps

Plug your external drive into your PC.
Open Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Backup options.
Click Add a drive and select your external drive from the list.
Turn on Automatically back up my files.
Click Back up now to perform the first backup.

Detailed Instructions

Step 1: Connect Your External Drive

Plug your external USB drive directly into your computer. Windows needs to detect the drive before it can be used as a File History destination. If you have multiple drives connected, take note of the drive letter assigned (for example, E: or F:) so you can identify it later.

Do not unplug the external drive during a backup. Interrupting a backup can leave your backup set in an inconsistent state. Always wait for the backup to finish before disconnecting the drive.

Step 2: Open the File History Settings

There are two ways to open the File History settings in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Method A (Windows 11):

Press Win + I to open Settings.
Click System in the left-hand menu.
Click Storage.
Scroll down and click Advanced storage settings.
Click Backup options.

Method B (Windows 10):

Press Win + I to open Settings.
Click Update & Security.
Click Backup in the left-hand menu.

You can also search for "File History" from the Start menu and choose File History settings from the results.

Step 3: Select Your Drive

Under Backup options, click Add a drive.
From the drop-down list, choose your external drive.
Windows will confirm the drive has been selected. The toggle Automatically back up my files should now appear.

Step 4: Turn On Automatic Backups

Switch the Automatically back up my files toggle to On.
Click Back up now to start your first backup immediately.

The first backup may take some time depending on how much data is in your personal folders. Subsequent backups only copy new and changed files, so they are usually much faster.

Step 5: Configure Backup Options

Click More options to adjust how File History behaves.

Back up my files: Choose how often backups run. The default is Every hour, but you can change this to every 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or every 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours.
Keep saved backups: Choose how long Windows keeps older versions. Options range from Until space is needed up to 2 years.
Back up these folders: Add or remove folders included in the backup. By default, your user profile folders are selected.
Exclude these folders: Add folders you do not want backed up (for example, a downloads folder full of temporary files).

If you want to back up folders outside your user profile, such as C:\Projects, add them under Back up these folders. You can also use this section to back up files from a second internal drive.

Step 6: Restore Files From a Backup

If you need to recover a file or an earlier version of a file, follow these steps.

Connect the external drive that holds your File History backups.
Open Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Backup options.
Scroll down and click Restore files from current backup.
Use the arrows at the bottom of the window to browse through saved versions by date.
Select the file or folder you want to restore.
Click the green Restore button to put the file back in its original location, or click the gear icon to restore it to a different folder.

You can also restore individual files by right-clicking them in File Explorer, selecting Show more options (Windows 11) or Properties (Windows 10), then clicking the Previous Versions tab. If a previous version exists in your File History backup, it will appear in the list and can be opened or copied.

Troubleshooting

File History Says the Drive Is Not Available

Confirm the external drive is plugged in and powered on.
Try a different USB port, preferably one directly on the PC rather than a hub.
Open File Explorer and check that the drive letter appears. If it does not, the drive may need to be initialised or formatted.
Re-select the drive in Backup options by clicking Add a drive again.

Backups Are Not Running Automatically

Confirm the Automatically back up my files toggle is still set to On.
Make sure the external drive is connected before you log in. File History only runs when the destination drive is available.
Check that the drive has enough free space. If the drive is full, older backups will be removed automatically, but new backups may fail.
Confirm the File History service is running. Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Find File History Service, double-click it, and set the Startup type to Automatic, then click Start.

I Cannot Find a File I Want to Restore

Confirm the file was inside a folder covered by File History. Files stored in C:\Program Files, C:\Windows, or on a separate drive partition are not backed up by default.
Add the folder to the Back up these folders list and run a new backup.
Use the time arrows in the restore window to check earlier dates.

The Drive I Want to Use Is Not Recognised

File History works best with drives formatted as NTFS. If your drive uses a different file system such as exFAT or FAT32, Windows may not recognise it as a valid backup destination. To check, open File Explorer, right-click the drive, and select Properties. The file system is listed under the General tab. If the drive needs to be reformatted, back up its contents first, as formatting will erase all data on the drive.

Backups Are Very Slow

Use a USB 3.0 or higher port and drive if possible. Older USB 2.0 connections are significantly slower.
Avoid running large backups while doing other disk-intensive tasks such as video editing or copying large files.
If the drive is nearly full, File History may take longer as it manages older versions. Free up space or use a larger drive.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of File History

Keep the external drive connected regularly so backups can run on schedule.
Store the drive in a safe location when not in use to protect it from damage or theft.
Periodically test restoring a file to confirm your backups are working correctly.
Consider using a second external drive and rotating between them for offsite protection.
Remember that File History is not a replacement for a full system image backup. For complete system recovery, consider using a dedicated backup solution as well.

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