What is the main feature of File History in Windows?

After releasing the File History feature for Windows 8, Microsoft has made improvements to the feature throughout time. You may back up important files and folders to an external drive with the File History feature. It is distinct from a Windows backup or system image since it copies only particular files and folders, not the entire C: drive.

The File History feature often creates backups of Desktop folders, OneDrive offline files, music, pictures, documents, downloads, and videos. However, you can use File History to add other directories that you wish to backup.

How to Use File History in Windows?

It’s a good habit to back up all the essential data and directories. Windows has a helpful tool called File History that makes it easy and automated for the users to periodically back up all the required files that are kept in the contacts, desktop, favorites, and libraries folders in the system. This type of security enables a major feature to retrieve all the required data that users may have inadvertently erased or altered from the system.

In this article, we’ll discuss File History in Windows and how to use File History in Windows efficiently.

Table of Content

  • Method 1: By using Windows Settings
  • Method 2: By using Control Panel
  • Method 3: By using the Group Policy Editor
  • Method 4: By using the Registry Editor

Similar Reads

What is the main feature of File History in Windows?

After releasing the File History feature for Windows 8, Microsoft has made improvements to the feature throughout time. You may back up important files and folders to an external drive with the File History feature. It is distinct from a Windows backup or system image since it copies only particular files and folders, not the entire C: drive....

How to use file history in Windows?

Here, we’ll discuss some methods to use file history in Windows....

Method 1: By using Windows Settings

The full File History choices are available in the settings app for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. It allows you to add or remove folders, adjust the frequency and storage device, and activate the file history feature....

Method 2: By using Control Panel

The File History option was completely removed from the Settings program in Windows 11. Although Microsoft changed a lot of the settings in Windows 11, you can still use the Control Panel to access File History. From there, you can control all the settings and enable/disable the feature....

Method 3: By using the Group Policy Editor

You can enable File History on your Windows Pro or Enterprise version computer by using the Group Policy editor. The Group Policy Editor isn’t available by default on Windows Home, but there is a workaround to access it there, so make sure to complete it before moving on....

Method 4: By using the Registry Editor

To enable File History on your computer, perform a quick registry edit. But before making any changes, you should always save a registry backup. For additional information, see our registry backup guide....

Conclusion

Windows’s File History is a very useful tool that can protect your data from unintentional loss or corruption. You can make sure that your digital data are safe and easily recoverable by customizing your backup options, setting up File History with an external disc or network location, and understanding how to restore files. You can use the Control Panel to enable it if you have Windows 11. To enable or disable File History, you can also try using the Registry Editor or Group Policy Editor....

How to use file history in Windows – FAQs

Should I use Windows file history for important data?...