Windows 10: File History / Backup Restore of old files not possible?

I have the following problem / question:


I use "Back up using File History" to backup all important files (documents, etc.) on my PC.

I got 2 external drives. One of them I placed into the Safe Deposit Box at my local bank about a month ago (with the status as per that date). After doing that I started a new backup with the 2nd drive which I disconnected today and exchanged with the other drive at my bank.


I thought I could just put the first drive into my PC and it would be recognized with the backup as per from a few weeks back. But my PC did not recognize any files/data at all.

All I could do is select this external drive and now it's doing a new backup - as if it's doing it for the first time.


I do these things to always have an "almost up to date" backup available in my bank, just in case something happens to the PC and/or the actual backup here in my house.

I was hoping that, in a worse-case-scenario, I could get a new PC and just hook up the external drive and restore my old files. This seems not to work, if my PC isn't even able to recognize the existing backups on my external drive if I connect it after just a few weeks.


Hopefully I was able to explain what my problem is. And I hope, someone has any idea what causes this. User error?


Many thanks in advance for any help.


Sigrid

:)

 

Restore W10 File History backup on W8.1 - possible?

Is it possible to restore a File History backup from Windows 10 to a Windows 8.1 installation? I do know it is possible to restore a backup from W10 to W10.

I am considering downgrading my laptop from W10 to W8.1. Obviously the first step is to back up all of my data there before reinstallation; if this is possible, then I don't have to manually copy my data to my backup drive, which should make things a bit
easier.

 

File History Restore Not Working

My apologies for my not explaining my problem clearly.

File History would always list my external drive. It would not list the File History backup subfolder, "Computer Name", which contained my backup.

I completed the 5 steps you recommended, and in step (4), using Windows Explorer, I opted to change the name to "File History.old" instead of deleting it. Had I deleted it, all my backup files that I want to reload onto drive C would have been gone.

When I look at the external backup drive in Windows Explorer it now shows 4 folders, $RECYCLE.BIN, FileHistory, FileHistory.old and System Volume Information. Bottom line, FileHistory contains only the backed up data currently on Drive C as a result of step
5, while FileHistory.old contains the data I wish to reload.

Now when I go to Control Panel/File History/Select drive, and select the external backup drive, only the subfolder contained in FileHistory shows up. The subfolder contained in FileHistory.old, which contains the data I wish to restore, is still not listed.
When I select "Restore personal files" it only shows folders associated with FileHistory.

Thanks for your attention and help, but I am now resigned to copying and pasting the files that I need to restore. I totally yield to the higher power that is Microsoft.

Again thanks,

RP

 

Windows 10 File History is unable to restore old backup files to a new PC

When adding an existing File History drive to a new PC via the Windows 10 Settings Panel, File History does not recognise the existing backups on the drive, and therefore there is no facility to restore these files to a new PC. Instead, it simply starts
backing up new files from the new PC to a new folder on the drive. There is no easy way to restore the backed-up files from the old PC to the new PC, and this is a huge problem.

I'm aware the legacy Windows 8.1-style Control Panel in Windows 10 has a version of File History which can restore old File History backups to a new PC, but aside from being increasingly well hidden, there's a good chance the legacy Windows 8.1 Control Panel
will be removed at some point from Windows 10.

So why is the ability to restore old File History backups to a new PC not available in the Windows 10 Settings Panel, and when can we expect to see this crucial feature added?