Protect your files with File History
File History is a Windows backup application that continuously
protects your personal files stored in Libraries (Documents, Pictures, Music,
Videos, Camera Roll, Saved Pictures), Desktop, Favorites, and Contacts folders.
It periodically (by default every hour) scans these folders for changes and
copies the changed files to an external drive. Every time any of your personal
files have changed, another copy will be stored on a dedicated, external
storage device selected by you. (Windows stores ALL your hourly changed files
locally, until you reconnect your external hard drive) Over time, File History
builds a complete history of changes made to any of these folders.
No external hard drive? Visit our External Hard Drives page for recommendations
Is File History the best option for Data Protection?
Well it’s a pretty cool feature that also adds file-versioning
to Windows. It’s great for recovering
files and looking back at all the different versions of each file. Combined with SnapBack's Snapshots you have a complete point in time history of
your files both local and on your external drive. File History however, does not protect you
from disasters that require restoring Windows if it fails to boot, or replacing
and restoring your systems hard drive exactly like it was before a
disaster. Adding SnapBack's Image Backup gives you full protection of your PC, and
quite frankly peace of mind!
File Recovery Instructions:
File History and Snapshots are usually recovered the same
way--from File Explorer. However,
depending on what you are trying to recover, it is very important that you know
where to start. For instance, if you
know that you had:
- A specific file NAME, in a
specific folder NAME, AND that file is still in that folder:
- Navigate to the Folder in Explorer
- Right-Click on the file you
are looking for and choose "Previous Versions", or the
equivalent, "File History":
- The pane will populate with
JUST THAT FILE's DATES that have CHANGED and
are DIFFERENT. (Any Snapshots with
the same version of the file are NOT shown.)
- If it was in "File
History" and your external HD is not available, it will prompt you
to connect it before you can recover.
It is was in a "Snapshot", you won't need any external
HD to recover.
- Usually, you will NOT want
to overwrite your existing unwanted file, in case this was not the
version you wanted.
- A specific file NAME, in a
specific folder NAME, and that file was RENAMED or DELETED, OR:
- You do NOT know the name of
the file, but you know the folder NAME:
- Navigate to the Folder in
Explorer.
- Right-Click and choose
"Previous Versions", or the equivalent, "File
History":
- The pane will populate with
JUST THAT FOLDER's DATES that have ANY
FILES that have
CHANGED and are DIFFERENT. (Any
Snapshots with the ALL the SAME versions of ANY of the files are NOT
shown.)
- You know the DATE, but little
else, OR:
- You do NOT know the FOLDER
NAME, but will recognize the date or file name:
- Navigate to the ROOT of the drive
you want in Explorer, (i.e.C:\), and highlight it:
- Right-Click and choose
"Previous Versions", or the equivalent, "File
History":
- The pane will populate with
ALL DATES that have Snapshots, and ??all dates that have any File
History?? That have changed. (Any
Snapshots WILL BE shown.)
- Open the DATE you want,
which will open a new File Explorer window, and then browse around until
you find what you are looking for.
- You know a KEY word inside
the file, AND the file TYPE is TXT, Word or ??:
- Search for FILE HISTORY,
then choose RECOVER files.
- In the upper right pane in
the search box, type the KEY words you are looking for.
- The results will show you
any files or folders that contain your KEY word, even if your external
drive is not attached. (Hopefully,
you have your external drive handy if you want to recover.)
The button will bring you to File Explorer, where all you have to do is:
Technical Details
File History uses Microsofts File History Utility to create copies of files in your Libraries (Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos), Desktop, Favorites, and Contacts folders for data protection.
The frequency at which the data is checked and how long it is saved can be modified in the File History Utility.
To access the File History Utility:
- Select the Gear in the upper right hand corner of the File History menu
- Select Setup File History
- Advanced Settings, here you can set how often and how long to keep saved versions, the default is forever