Your guide Mark Wyciślik-Wilson says… “The File History feature of Windows 10 can be used to roll back to earlier versions of documents, or just create backups of all your important files”
We all know the importance of backing up data, but how many of us actually have a backup plan in place?
Among the most common reasons for putting off backing up is that it will be complicated, it will be expensive, or it will be time-consuming. None of these things need necessarily be true. In fact, Windows 10 has a very handy tool called File History, a highly configurable backup tool that lets you safeguard your most important files and folders to a second hard drive or an external drive File History is quick and easy to set up, and as it runs automatically in the background, keeping backups according to the schedule you specify, there’s no need to do anything after initial configuration. Let’s dive in and take a look and see how this little-known utility can be used to protect your files.
MARK’S BEST TIP
To easily access File History, create a new desktop shortcut that points to “control/name Microsoft.FileHistory”.
Step-by-step Getting started with File History
1 Enable File History and select drive
File History is not enabled by default, so you will have to switch it on. Open Setting from the Start menu and click Update & Security, and then click the Backup link in the left-hand navigation pane. At this point you need to ensure you either have a USB drive connected or a second hard drive installed. Click the Add a drive button and select the one you’d like to use from the list.
2 Configure basic backup settings
Click the More options link below the Automatically back up my files toggle, and you’ll be taken to a section where you can configure your backups. The first dropdown lets you choose how frequently files should be backed up for you – anything from every ten minutes to daily. The second can be used to indicate if backups should be kept forever or deleted after a period of time.
3 Choose backup folders
File History is configured to automatically back up a number of folders by default, but they may not be the ones you need or use. Look beneath the dropdowns on the Back-up options screen, and click Add a folder. Select a folder that you want to safeguard, and click the Choose this folder button. Repeat for as many folders as you like.
4 Removing and excluding folders
As well as adding the folders you want to use to the backup, it makes sense to remove any you don’t need. Just click on any of the folders that appear in the Back up these folders section and click the Remove button. You can also opt to exclude sub-folders from being backed up if you like. Scroll down to the Exclude these folders heading, click Add a folder and select the
