Solved 2022: Windows 10 File History Not Working
Page Content:
- What Kind of File History problems Will You Meet?
- Why You Receive File History Error?
- How to Fix File History Not Working? (5 Ways)
File History is a built-For Windows users, File History is a utility that allows you to back up different versions of files in folders such as Libraries, Desktop, Documents, and Contacts. Once set up, it saves copies of selected content to a designated backup drive on a regular time basis, giving you a safety net for your important files.
Although it is a Windows-File History, a feature designed to back up and restore files, is not perfect and can sometimes malfunction, resulting in error messages for some users. This article aims to address several common File History not working issues and provide step-by-step solutions to resolve them.
File History Not Working with Various Error Messages
Before going into the solutions, let's check what kinds of File History problems you may encounter. You might see one of the following error messages or notifications, such as a message saying that File History is turned off, that the drive is not connected, that the drive is full, or that the backup is failing due to a system file problem.
- "File History is not backing up because backups are turned off in your privacy settings."
- "Your backup was partially successful. Some files were not backed up and will be tried again soon. No changes were made to your data."
- "There was an issue with backing up your files using File History. It's possible that the files are being used by another program or that there's a problem with the backup location. Try restarting your computer or checking the backup location to see if the issue resolves itself. If the problem persists, you may need to troubleshoot further or seek additional assistance.
- "File History is turned off."
- "Windows 10 File History service cannot be started"
- "Could not enable File History the system cannot find the path specified"
- ...
When File History isn't working, it means there's an issue that needs to be resolved, and troubleshooting is necessary to get it back to normal. The error messages often indicate the specific problem, such as the drive not being recognized or an element not being found.
Why You Receive File History Error?
File History may not work due to various reasons, including connection problems or insufficient backup drive space, which can prevent it from functioning properly. To troubleshoot the issue, you can check if either of these factors is the cause of the problem.
- 1. Bad connection between File History backup drive and the computer
- 2. You don't have enough space on your backup drive to store the content for File History to back up. You'll need to free up space on the drive or consider using a larger drive to accommodate the backup.
- 3. Windows updating issue
A bad connection can refer to different situations. It might mean your computer can't recognize the connected backup disk, or it can recognize the disk but you can't write to it. Alternatively, the backup disk might be damaged or not connected properly. In any case, identifying the root cause is essential to resolve the issue.
File History saves different copies of content on a regular basis, but if the backup frequency is too high or the content is too large, the backup disk may run out of space to store new backups.
The last reason for File History issues may not be your fault, as some users have reported problems after updating their Windows system. This appears to be a bug caused by the Windows update, and it may be resolved with a future update. However, it's worth noting that Microsoft has been encouraging users to switch to third-party backup and recovery software for both file and system backups, and one such alternative may be a viable solution to this issue.
What Is the Best Free Backup Software in 2022
Choosing the best backup software can be a daunting task, as it requires considering not only the quality of the backup itself, but also the user-friendliness of the interface and the ease of restoring a backup file.
How to Fix File History Not Working
In this section, we'll address the corresponding issues with practical solutions. You can review and apply the one that best fits your specific situation.
Solution 1. Restart File History
If your backup drive has sufficient storage space and works fine, you can try this method to reboot File History. This solution can fix most hardware issues.
Step 1.To access the Services console, open the Start Menu and type "services.msc" into the search box. This will open the Services console, where you can view and manage the various system services running on your computer.
Step 2. To resolve the issue, locate the "File History Service" in the list of services, right-click on it, and select the "Restart" option. This will restart the service and potentially resolve the problem.
Step 3. Restart your computer and go to File History to see if it can run normally.
Solution 2. Check and Change a New File History Drive
In this scenario, you can simply remove the oldest backups to free up space on your File History backup drive, allowing you to continue backing up your files without running out of storage space. This approach is straightforward and doesn't require any additional software or technical expertise, making it a convenient solution for the given situation.
Step 1. To check how many used spaces are there in your File History drive, you can go to Disk Management or File Explorer. In Disk Management, you can see the total and used space for each drive, including your File History drive.
Step 2. If there isn't enough space on the current drive, stop using it as a backup drive.
Step 3. 1. Connect a new backup drive to your computer.
After clicking "Stop using drive", go to your backup drive and delete the "FileHistory" Folder. You could also delete old File History backups.
Solution 3. Recheck File History
The solution works when users don't find backup versions of covered folders in Libraries, suggesting that File History is not backing up all files added by users.
There are a few workarounds for this problem.
- You can try turning off File History and then turning it on again to give it a force restart. This may resolve the issue.
- To troubleshoot the issue, try removing the folder(s) from the included list and adding them back again. This simple step can often resolve the problem by refreshing the connection and re-establishing the folder's inclusion.
Solution 4. Decrypt Bitlocker Drive Encryption
If File History is not working, it may be due to your PC being protected by BitLocker Drive Encryption, but your File History drive not being exempt. To resolve this issue, you need to turn off BitLocker for your computer.
Step 1. To access BitLocker Drive Encryption in Windows, you can go to the Start menu, select Control Panel, then System and Security, and finally find BitLocker Drive Encryption.
Step 2. Find the drive you want to decrypt, and click the Turn off Bitlocker option.
Step 3. You can enter your password to unlock the drive, or use a smart card to unlock it instead.
Solution 5. Turn to File History Free Alternative
Microsoft's File History backup system has limitations, including only backing up files and folders associated with the user account, consuming disk space by creating full backups, and not supporting cloud backups, unlike popular third-party backup software.
With all the shortcomings combined with the tricky problems of File History not working quite often, it's imperative for us to introduce Qiling Backup for you. It offers a free version to try out the highlighted features, making it a more reliable alternative to File History.
- Back up OS, disk/partition and all types of files
- The system supports full, incremental, and differential backups, allowing for fast backup and recovery speeds while minimizing disk space consumption.
- Create a bootable rescue media, such as a USB drive or CD/DVD, to have a backup and restore option for your PC, even when it cannot boot. This allows you to access and save your important files, or restore your system to a previous working state, in case of a system failure or malware infection.
- An automatic backup schedule can be set to run daily, weekly, or monthly, or even triggered by specific events, ensuring that data is consistently and reliably backed up.
- Users can save backups to various storage options, including physical hard drives, network drives, NAS devices, and tape storage, in addition to cloud storage. This flexibility allows users to choose the best method for their specific needs and preferences.
- Top reviews from authoritative websites and YouTube recommend it.
Check: Best free backup software of 2022 from Techradar.com
Final Thought
If File History is not working properly, there are 5 ways to try and fix the issue. You can try each solution one by one until File History is back to normal. Since File History has its limitations, it's always a good idea to consider a free backup software like Qiling for added protection.
Related Articles
- How Do I Clone M.2 SSD to Larger M.2 SSD on Laptop/PC [Complete Guide]
- How to Create a Backup Windows 10 with the Least Effort
- How to Backup SSD to Image with The Best SSD Image Backup Software [Full Guide]
- System State Backup & System Image Backup Windows 10 [2022]