Windows 10 does come with a built-in backup program called File History. This program allows users to easily back up their personal files and folders to another drive, like an external hard drive or network location. File History can help protect important documents, photos, music, videos and more by creating copies of the files.
What is File History?
File History is the main backup tool included in Windows 10. It is designed to help protect personal files by automatically and continuously backing them up to another location, like an external drive. Some key things to know about File History:
- Backs up files stored in common folders like Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, Desktop and Contacts.
- Works by saving copies of files at regular intervals whenever a file changes. This allows you to restore previous versions of files if needed.
- Lets you restore all files and folders to their previous state as of the last backup.
- Requires an external drive or shared network location to store the backup copies.
- Turned on by default in Windows 10, but you need to add a backup drive for it to work.
Overall, File History provides an automatic and continuous way to back up personal files without any user interaction. It can help you easily restore important files if they are ever lost, corrupted or deleted.
How does File History work?
Here is a closer look at how File History functions in Windows 10:
- You need to connect an external drive or map a network location that File History will save the backup files to. This drive needs to have enough storage space for the backups.
- With the backup drive connected, open the Settings app and go to Update & Security > Backup. Under Back up using File History, turn on the feature.
- File History will now scan your libraries, desktop, contacts and favorites folders to find personal files that need to be protected.
- An initial full backup of all files will be created. This may take a while depending on how many files you have.
- Going forward, File History will backup files every hour by default if there are changes detected. Changed files get copied to the backup drive.
- Multiple versions of changed files are kept over time, allowing you to restore previous versions if needed.
- You can restore files by searching in File Explorer and clicking “Restore previous versions” on the right-click menu.
The end result is an automatic backup of personal files that requires minimal setup. File History runs quietly in the background once configured. The backup drive can be portable so you can take it with you or keep it disconnected for extra security.
What files and folders does File History back up?
By default, File History is configured to backup these common personal folders:
- Desktop
- Documents
- Pictures
- Music
- Videos
- Favorites
- Contacts
It does not backup system files, programs or apps. Those would need to be reinstalled if your system drive fails. But it does protect your own personal data files.
You can add additional folders to be backed up if desired. Or you can exclude specific folders. This can be customized in the File History settings.
How often does File History run backups?
The default backup frequency is once per hour. So if you modify a file, File History will back it up again on the next hour.
You can change how often backups happen by adjusting these settings:
- Back up my files – Frequency options are Daily, Every 10 minutes, Every 15 minutes, Every 30 minutes, or Every hour (default)
- Keep my backups – Default is Forever, can change to Until space is needed
Backing up more frequently provides more granular restore points. But it requires more storage space and system resources. Adjust as needed for your usage.
How much space does File History need?
The amount of storage space needed depends primarily on:
- How many personal files you have – More files and larger files require more backup storage.
- Version history length – Keeping more old versions takes more space.
- Frequency of changes – Backups are created for changed files each time.
Some general storage space guidelines:
| Data backed up | Recommended size |
| Less than 100 GB | 250 GB+ external drive |
| 100 GB – 200 GB | 500 GB+ external drive |
| 200 GB – 500 GB | 1+ TB external drive |
| Over 500 GB | 2+ TB external drive |
Larger backup drives are inexpensive and give you plenty of room. You can use an external HDD or SSD drive. File History will use only the space needed, even on a larger drive.
Where can File History save backup files?
File History requires an external drive or shared network location to store the backups. Some options are:
- External USB hard drive or SSD
- USB flash drive or memory card – Not recommended as the only backup location due to potential loss or failure.
- Network attached storage (NAS) device
- Shared network folder
- OneDrive cloud storage – Only backs up files already saved in OneDrive, not all personal files.
Using an external drive allows you to disconnect and store it safely offsite for extra protection. Or you can take the drive with you anywhere.
A NAS or shared network folder works well for automatic backups, but the files are accessible to other people on your network.
How to restore files from File History
If you ever need to recover older versions of files that were backed up by File History, follow these steps:
- Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder or file you need to restore.
- Right-click on the file or folder and select “Restore previous versions” from the menu.
- A window will open showing previous versions of that file. Click the left arrow to select the date of the version you want.
- Previews of the versions will display. Click Restore to retrieve that version.
- The file or folder will be restored to its state from the date selected.
You can also restore an entire library or all files. This rolls back your system to a previous state. Go to Settings > Update & security > Backup > More options > Restore files from a current backup.
Advantages of File History
Some key advantages of using File History for backups in Windows 10 include:
- Automatic protection of personal files – Backs up with no user interaction needed.
- Continuous backups – Backs up changed files frequently, as often as every 10 minutes.
- Versioning – Allows restoring previous versions of files.
- Bare metal restore – Full system recovery is possible.
- Visual interface – Restore interface shows previews and timelines.
- Encryption – Backups can be encrypted for security.
- Compression – Saves space by compressing backup data.
Overall, File History provides comprehensive and continuous backup protection for Windows users with minimal effort.
Limitations of File History
File History does have some limitations to be aware of:
- Requires external drive or network – Cannot backup to local system drive.
- Backs up preset folders only – Cannot select custom folders.
- No backup of programs or system image – Only personal files.
- Drive must be available for restore – Can’t restore from offline drive.
- Only works in Windows – Backup files can’t be accessed from other operating systems.
While File History handles personal data backup needs for most Windows users, alternatives like cloud storage or imaging may be required for more advanced backup situations.
Alternatives to File History
Users that find File History limited for their needs can consider these alternative backup programs for Windows 10:
| Program | Key Features |
| Macrium Reflect | Full system imaging and offsite cloud backup options. |
| Veeam Agent | Application-aware image backups with powerful restore tools. |
| Acronis True Image | Very comprehensive local and cloud backups. |
| Carbonite | Easy automated cloud backup option. |
While paid programs, they provide more robust backup capabilities like system images, flexible backup scheduling, bootable recovery media, mobile backups and offshore cloud storage.
How to turn on File History
If you want to start using File History to backup your personal files, follow these steps:
- Connect an external USB hard drive, SSD, NAS or map a network drive with adequate storage space.
- Open Settings > Update & Security > Backup.
- Under Back up using File History, toggle the switch to On.
- Under Automatically back up my files, select how often you want backups to run.
- Under Back up my files to, select the backup drive.
- Click More options to exclude folders if desired.
- File History will now start backing up your selected folders periodically.
Remember to keep the backup drive connected or available at the scheduled times. The initial full backup may take several hours before routine incremental backups begin.
Conclusion
Windows 10 does have an integrated backup program called File History that is suitable for most users’ needs. It automatically protects files stored in common personal folders on a periodic basis. Restoring previous versions of files is easy using the visual interface.
File History does require an external or networked drive for storage. And it backs up only personal files, not the full system. But it provides comprehensive backup protection for documents, photos, videos and other important user files. Enabling File History is highly recommended to protect against data loss on Windows 10 systems.