How to Enable and Use “File History” in Windows

You’ll never lose a file again

Safeguarding essential files and documents is crucial, and Windows has a handy feature to help you. File History, a built-in tool for Windows users, ensures you don’t lose those precious memories or important work documents due to accidental deletion or system crashes.

Enabling andusing File Historyis simple and doesn’t require a technical background. You can easily set up this feature and enjoy peace of mind knowing your valuable files are backed up and easily accessible. So, sit back and let us guide you through the process, ensuring you’ll never lose a file again.

What Is File History in Windows?

File History is a feature in Windows that provides an easy and efficient way to back up your files automatically. File History works by periodically saving copies of your personal files, such as documents, photos, and videos, to anexternal driveor adesignated network location. This ensures that even if you accidentally delete a file or encounter a system issue, you’ll have a backup available to restore your lost data.

The beauty of File History lies in its simplicity. It runs quietly in the background, requiring minimal input from the user once it’s set up. By default, File History backs up your files every hour, but you can customize the frequency according to your needs.

File History also keeps track of the different versions of your files, allowing you to access and restore previous versions if needed. This is particularly useful if you want to revert to an earlier version of a document or if a file becomes corrupted.

How to Enable File History

You’ll need to enable File History before you can use it. To enable File History, you must have your external drive plugged in.

How to Use File History

Once you enable File History, it will automatically back up files from Libraries, Desktop, Contacts, Favorites, and a few other folders. However, there are other things you can do, such as selecting other folders to backup, setting backup frequency, and more.

You can back up a folder not in one of the default libraries, directories, or folders backed up by default.

The folder will automatically back up when added. The “Include in library” option is only available for folders, so you can’t use this for individual files.

You can also exclude certain folders from being backed-up. Here’s how.

The selected folder is now excluded from File History.

File History runs quietly in the background, saving copies of your files every hour by default. However, if it’s running a little more (or less) than you’d like, you can adjust the frequency it saves your files.

File History will now run, as well as delete copies, at the times you set.

Always Have a Backup

Enabling and understanding how to use File History allows you to delve into secure file management and amplifies your digital backup capabilities. File History allows you to customize your backup preferences and create reliable restore points for various data types.

You shouldn’t stop there, though. Having multiple backups is always better than one, so take advantage of the cloud or even invest in a network-attached storage solution to always keep your files safe and accessible.

Marshall is a technical writer based in Tokyo, Japan. His bylines are found on VGKAMI, How-To Geek, PCWorld, Zapier, and many other online magazines.Read Marshall’s Full Bio

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked*

Comment*

Name*

Email*

Website

Welcome to Help Desk Geek- a blog full of tech tips from trusted tech experts. We have thousands of articles and guides to help you troubleshoot any issue. Our articles have been read over 150 million times since we launched in 2008.

HomeAbout UsEditorial StandardsContact UsTerms of Use

How to Enable and Use “File History” in Windows#

What Is File History in Windows?#

How to Enable File History#

How to Use File History#

Always Have a Backup#