File History is a useful utility in Windows 11 for automatically backing up selected files and folders to an external drive. It needs regular backups of your important files which Windows can restore at any time. You can also use File History to retrieve previous versions of files or folders that you may have deleted.
This article will show you how to set up and use File History on Windows 11 to backup and restore files.
How to set up file history on Windows 11
Unlike previous versions, Windows 11 does not allow you to access File History from the Settings app. Instead, you will have to use the Control Panel to set up and use File History on Windows 11.
Step 1: Open the Start menu, type in dashboardthen press Enter.
Step 2: Change View type to large or small icon and select File History.
Step 3: If you have not connected any external drive, you will see the error “No usable hard drive was found”. Connect an external hard drive and refresh the page to continue.
Step 4: Click the Enable button to enable File History.
Once enabled, File History will automatically start backing up your files. Optionally, you can also choose to backup to a network location if available.
How to Use File History on Windows 11
See how you can use File History to back up files, add or remove folders, and modify other important settings.
Backup files with File History
By default, File History will only back up files from Gallery, Desktop, Contacts, and Favorites. However, you can add more folders if you want by following the steps below.
Step 1: Locate the folder you want to add to the File History backup.
Step 2: Right click on the folder, navigate to the ‘Include in Library’ option and choose your preferred location.
That’s it. Since your library is already backed up, any files or folders added to it will be part of it.
Likewise, if you want to exclude certain folders from your File History backup, here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Click the Windows Search button, type in file historythen press Enter.
Step 2: Use the left pane to select Exclude folder.
Step 3: Click Add.
Step 4: Locate the folder or subfolders you want to exclude from your backup. Then click Choose folder.
Change the backup frequency
You can also define how often you want your files to be backed up automatically. You can set the backup frequency to once every few minutes or daily as long as a network or external drive is available. This is the way.
Step 1: In the File History window, open Advanced Settings.
Step 2: Under Versions, use the drop-down menu next to ‘Save a copy of the file’ to choose your preferred backup frequency.
Alternatively, you can also define how long you want to keep your saved versions. Once done, click Save Changes.
Select File History Drive
Depending on the number of files and the frequency of backups, your external hard drive will inevitably run out of space sooner or later. Thankfully, you can switch to a different drive at any time by following the steps below.
Step 1: In the File History window, click Select drive.
Step 2: Here, you will be shown a list of available drives. Alternatively, you can also click the Add network location option to back up your files on the network.
How to recover files from File History on Windows 11
In case you lose access to your important files, recovering them from File History is quite simple. This is the way.
Step 1: Press Windows key + S to open Windows Search. Knock on file history in the box and press Enter.
Step 2: Click on Restore Personal Files on your left side.
Step 3: Here you will find all your backup files with a few media controls at the bottom. The forward and backward buttons will help you scroll through different versions of files and folders.
Step 4: Select one or more folders that you want to restore and click the restore button.
Once restored, you can locate the file or folder in its original location on your PC.
Backup and restore
While you can back up your files and folders with OneDrive, File History is a convenient option for storing your files offline. In addition, you can also restore different versions of a file with regular backups. Will you use File History or want to store your files in the cloud? Let us know in the comments below.
Categories: How to
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