Windows 10: Windows 10 Not Finding File History from Previous Backup

Hey all,


I recently reset my computer to try and troubleshoot something because nothing else was working I know, not a great idea. It wiped everything, obviously. I put a backup onto my external drive before the reset, so it has a folder called FileHistory with what I assume is everything I'd need.


For whatever reason however, Windows 10 is not recognizing the folder and instead sees the only backup available as one from after the reset. I tried moving the folder into the local drive, onto the desktop, but nothing is working. I'm using the "Restore your files with file history" search in the search bar, but it only finds the backup from after the reset.


Can anyone help me out here and point me in the right direction? I had so many games and apps from before... I never should have reset.


Thank you,

Anthony

:)

 

Backup files that Windows creates with file history

You should be able to use File Explorer to browse the folder on the NAS share that you selected. You can find out the share that's in use in:
Settings > Update & Security > Backup > More options.

Select Drive for File History in Windows 10 | Tutorials

But to see what is held in File History and (if necessary) restore the files, see 'Step 3. To Open File History and Restore Previous File Version from Control Panel' in this tutorial.

Restore Files or Folders from File History in Windows 10 | Tutorials

 

Get File History to recognize previous backup

The problem isn't the folder structure. I included that simply to point out that I can see all the files. They just have the time/datestamp attached to the end.

The problem is that File History does not recognize the existence of this structure. As I said, when I go to File History, click on Select Drive, select the network drive, and then tell it I want to use a previous
backup on this File History drive, it cannot find it. It has a completely different User name and Computer name. That is, I'm looking for something like:

User name: Original user name from original computer

Computer name: Original computer name from original computer

But instead, the only thing that appears is:

User name: Name on new computer

Computer name: Name on new computer

I've seen the instructions you've mentioned, but they are incomplete. They say:

As I mentioned, if you have already fallen prey to the one of the first two stumbling blocks, you won't get an opportunity to restore your existing backup
because the I Want To Use A Previous Backup On This File History Drive check box will never appear again once File History has made a new backup. The workaround to this problem involves deleting the File History backup you inadvertently made and re-creating
your user account on your new system. Then you'll be able to use File History the correct way. In next week's follow-up article, I'll explain these steps in detail.

And that seems to be precisely the problem I have. I cannot find "next week's follow-up article."

So how do I do this? How do I convince File History to see this other backup from a previous computer with different names?

 

Get File History to recognize previous backup

I had my files stored in File History on a network drive. I have verified that they're all there. But when I go to restore them, File History can't seem to find them. They're in a folder name/computer name/Data/C/Users/username/everything...

However, when I go to File History, click on Select Drive, select the network drive, and then tell it I want to use a previous backup on this File History drive, it cannot find it. It has a completely different User name and Computer name.

How do I get File History to recognize my previous backup? If it's a question of renaming the user name and computer name to match what it the previous computer was, fine, but how do I do that?