Windows 10: File History: Sees my external SSD used for backup but says no files to restore from

Thank everyone in advance for your time!


Due to a hardware issue and to declutter my system, I had to do a full, ground-up reinstallation of Windows 10 (64bit).

• My account/ID name was (for example) "*** Email address is removed for privacy ***". I was also the only user/account, and Administrator, on my PC.
• I kicked-off the "restore to factory image and reinstall your operating system" process
• Windows prompted me to make a full USB bootable recovery flash drive on a 64GB USB flash drive
• Windows then prompted me to make a full file backup using File History- the backup was made to my external 2TB SDD
• It successfully ran and created the FileHistory directory, my "123ABC" directory, my PC name directory and the Files/Data subdirectories- no errors or skip file messages
• I then reinstalled Windows 10 (64bit) using my same Microsoft license
• I then created a new acccount/ID name (for example) "*** Email address is removed for privacy ***"; I didn't want to use *** Email address is removed for privacy ***" anymore as my old ID was no longer a good choice for many reasons- especially if I added an employee to my small home business
• The Windows and all my apps and driver install went perfectly

Here is where the problem started:

• I then went to Settings, Backup and File History and attemepted to restore my saved files
• My 2TB SSD was in the same USB slot when the backup was successfully created, even noting the correct drive "D:\"
• File History said it could not locate any previous backups
• I went through all settings, advanced settings and FIle History does see my D:\ drive but still says it cannot locate any files to restore from

I am thinking it is because my original backup was created usting my old "123ABC" Microsoft ID, which is in fact in the backup file path

• My new, current Microsoft ID on my PC as noted earlier is now "*** Email address is removed for privacy ***"
• Do I need to re-create my old ID as an additional user and restore it that way?
• Any other suggestions?

Many, many thanks to everyone involved!

:)

 

How to restore backup from Backup Set on external drive when File History says "No file history was found"?

I backed up my files on Windows 10 to an external drive a days ago, and now I want to restore them. I went to System Security, then to File History. When I selected "Restore personal files" a window pops up it only says "No file history was found". I can
clearly see the Backup Set on the external drive.

What do I do now?

 

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

 

Files skipped in Backup using File History

Hi Sumangal,





Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



Which device are you backing up the files to?





Normally, on the successful completion of back up, you will get the pop up saying that the backup operation completed successfully and if any file is skipped, you will be notified about it, however some files due to their length appear to be hidden. If
you try to restore the file using File History it is actually there.



I would suggest to check if the files/folders are in the Excluded folder list. You may also want to check the file history logs to view the recent events errors, the option is available under
Advanced settings of File History.





Finally, I would suggest to restore your personal files and see if the missing files are restored from the file history. Please refer to the following article. The article is for Windows 8, but holds good for Windows 10 as well.



Restoring files from File History



Hope the information is helpful.



Regards,

Peer Samie

Microsoft Community-Moderator