Windows 10: How can I adjust offline cache size for File History? Option is gone.

Why Microsoft change this feature and give us small offline cache? Why they do things worse than previos-that is the question.

 

I don't know the answer to that but it does seem a genuine issue.

Have you tried asking over on the MS TechNet forums ?

Technet forums - Windows 10 General

 

Here is my possible answer to @Konradzio question and my plea to MS:

Perhaps Microsoft had a lot of complaints in W8/8.1 from people seeing a lot of local drive usage without understanding why. Changing the default cache to this rediculously low and unchangable value is the wrong way to go, I think we agree on that. There are really a lot of reasons why people cannot stick their external drive in regularly. Or don't want to for that matter (like me). For example: I don't want to because of the outbreak of ransomware here in the Netherlands. Ransomware WILL encrypt all your connected drives before it reveals itself, including your backup drive if connected. So I only want to connect my external drive when I am certain everything is ok. But I still want the finegrained (hourly) file history.

Microsoft just needs to restore the offline cache limit setting and surround it with all kinds of warnings (about disk space usage, importance of regular external backup, etc). Also, the disk clean-up tool could give suggestions (please connect your external drive, it will clean 20 GB of internal storage by flushing file history cache). Again, whatever reason Microsoft had to remove the setting, it can (and should) be solved in another way.

Please MS, give us the offline cache size setting back and deal with the objections in another way! Meanwhile, give us a workaround.

That being said, I am still wondering if perhaps the cache size needs have decreased, thanks to some added intelligence in W10. For example, there is no need to put physical copies of first versions of files in the cache at once. Just awareness of the new files is enough (= putting hashes in some db). When files are actually changed or (accidentally) removed, then a real physical copy of the original must be put in cache immediately (only possible if file history is fully integrated into ALL file handling). So when the external drive is connected, not only would the cache be flushed but also all newly added files would be backupped. This is just a brainstorm. I mean: I can imagine that such an intelligence would decrease the need for a large cache dramatically. If this isn't the case, perhaps MS can pay me for this brilliant idea *Wink

@Mooly: No I haven't been asking about this issue at Technet or anywhere else. Also (to my surprise) I couldn't find anyone else complaining about it.