The file history feature on Windows 10 and 8 is responsible for backing up your data and operating system files to a location that you determine. In the event something goes wrong, you can use these backup files to restore the operating system to the previous point when you backed up your device.
Many users have reported after updating Windows 10 that the Windows backup is not working on their device even though they set it up to backup up Windows at regular intervals. Here I will discuss the Windows 10 file history not working error, and the way to set it up properly so that Windows backup can take place properly.
Why Is Windows 10 Not Backing Up?
With Windows 10 came a host of settings changes that led to many features being changed. File History is one such error and many users reported that file history on Windows 10 is not working on their device.
This error can mostly be credited to the settings change that comes with Windows 10 updates. By default, the File History feature is set automatically to the Off position, which means that Windows 10 backups will not be automatically saved.
To turn on File History in Windows 10, you need to change the settings manually to start automatic file history backups. Follow this guide to know how to enable it, and some other troubleshooting tips if starting it fails to solve your issue.
[SOLVED] Windows 10 File History Not Working
If the file history on Windows 10 is not working on your device as well, here is the method you can follow to enable this feature on your device. Follow the complete guide to learn about some additional tips if enabling the feature fails to backup Windows on your device.
Solution 1: Reset The Settings
With the release of Windows 10, the file history service is set to Off. This may be the reason that you are unable to run Windows backup for your device. Follow these steps to enable File history again.
There are two known methods to enable File history on a device. This can be done through the Settings app, or through the older Control Panel method.
Through the Settings app:
- Insert an external USB or other storage devices to your computer.
- Open the Windows Settings You can access that from the start menu, or use the keyboard shortcut Win + I.
- Here, click on Update & Security.
- From the left pane, click on Backup.
- From the right pane, click on Add a drive.
6. This will open a new context menu mentioning the drives available for backup.
7. Select the drive that you wish to backup to. Then follow the on-screen instructions to back up your device.
Through Control Panel:
For more advanced options and better support, you can access the backup settings through the Control panel.
- Open Control panel via the desktop icon or through a Run window (accessible by pressing Win + R, enter control panel).
- In All Control Panel items, locate and click on File History.
- Locate and click on the button that says Select drive. Locate and select the drive that you wish to save your backups to.
- At the “Do you want to use this drive for file history” prompt, click on Yes.
- Here, locate and click on the button that says Turn on.
6. In the left pane, select Advanced Settings.
7. From here, select how often you wish to backup your drive, and how often you wish to delete those saved versions.
8. Click on Save changes.
Following this, you have enabled File History in Windows 10. Check if this solves your Windows 10 file history not working error.
However, if this fails to help you and you still get the Windows backup not working error, here are some other tips that might help you solve your problem.
Solution 2: Enable File History And Windows Search Services
Some users have reportedly solved the file history on Windows 10 not working error on their device by enabling these services on their devices from the Services window. You can try this as well if Windows 10 backup fails.
- Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
- Type services.msc and press Enter to launch the Services window.
- Here locate the following services one by one and double click on them to open Properties.
File History
Windows Search - Make sure that the services are running, and the startup type is set to Automatic. If not, change them to the said values.
5. Restart your computer.
Following this, set up your File History again, and it should work normally.
Solution 3: Re-Enable System Protection
System protection is the feature in Windows 10 that lets you undo changes made to your computer by reverting your computer to a previous point in time. Re-enabling the system may fix some errors associated with the file, thereby solving the Windows 10 file history not working error.
- Open Control panel via the desktop icon or through a Run window (accessible by pressing Win + R, enter control panel).
- In All Control Panel items, locate and click on System and Security, followed by System and then System Protection.
- Choose a drive and click on Configure.
4. Click on the ‘Disable system protection’ radio button and apply the change. Then, turn on system protection again.
5. Click on Apply followed by OK.
This should help you solve your backup error.
However, if this fails as well, there is possibly some system file missing or misbehaving that is causing the error on your device.
Solution 4: Run An SFC Scan
An SFC scan can be used to find if some Windows functions are not working, and restore the corrupted files that may have been causing the “Windows 10 file history not working” issue.
Caution: Do not interrupt the scans until the verification is complete. The scans do take time, but interrupting the scans may break your system.
Firstly, connect to the internet.
In an elevated Command Prompt window, write the following command to run a System File Checker (SFC) scan and press Enter.
sfc /scannow
After the scan finishes the problem should be resolved. If there are some corrupt files, the scan will show results as a message.
Solution 5: Use A Third Party Windows 10 Backup Software
If the native file backup system fails to solve your issue, you can use a third-party Windows 10 backup software.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. Now you know how to solve the Windows 10 file history not working error using the tips provided above. Tell in the comments if the solutions worked for you.
Prataan,
Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.
I have initiated and re-initiated File History until I am blue in the face. I have run sfc scans. However, it seems to back up files once, but it doesn’t back up files that have been changed. There are errors and warnings in the Event History, but I don’t know how to interpret them. Does File History just stop when it encounters an error, or does it proceed to the next file? I’ll be grateful for any suggestions you may have. Thank you.
– David Berg
I have lost and gained file history working and not a minimum of 12 times in the past1.5 weeks. Each time I have been brain dead over sitting up days trying to come out of a series of crashes. Now I just lost in again about 3 hours or more ago and did so when I “choose a different drive to back up to” Each time I have found a solution on the web here and believe it was a gal that told about 7 or more ways to regain it and each time I have regained it but this time, I cannot find the article but know this one is not it and these ideas give here will not work. I almost believe it was group policy edit maybe that got if for me before and was about 4 down of her many fixes. The group thing is not doing it this time however but there is a new wrinkle to it for me. This time when you go to services and set file history to auto and start it, then it dies on its own and changes back to manual within a minute or less generally. I read another guy experiencing this same problem also. I will fix this again tomorrow and next time I will write the solution down and mark the page. following some expert from HP earlier, I also again lost the ability to get the system protection as it greyed out on one of his ideas and these two things are very closely related somehow and every time before this round I have had both issues at once and maybe it was not the gal but some guy that fixed both of these issues in one article . I will find it again.