Windows 10: how to use file history on a partition (of the same drive) [solved]

To use a partition you must first turn on the sharing option on it. So click on your partition, go to property, on the sharing tab click on advanced sharing. Share it with yourselves, or the other. Then run: filehistory, click on configure file history select your partition.


:)

 

Making a hard drive usable

How are you using the drive at the moment? Have you configured anything to be stored on it and have you created any partitions?

File history will not define any drive as being suitable for backup tasks if it includes files on the same drive in the backup. Windows will also identify different partitions if on the same physical disk.

So a common scenario of C and D partitions on the same disk but File History will not allow you to select D as a destination to backup files on C.

 

Windows 10 - No usable drives found. Cannot backup

Just a thought. The File History On/Off Toggle Switch will be greyed out if the system can't find an available drive that can be used for File History Backups. So, is the external drive 'clean' of other content, or are you already using it for another purpose?
To use File History, the Drive has to be dedicated to that sole purpose. You can, of course, partition large drives and use one of the partitions, by Drive Letter, as a File History Drive.

 

I'd never thought of sharing the whole partition *Smile although you can do this another way retaining the normal partition settings

You Create a folder on the standard partition in the normal way and call it 'File History'. Now right click the folder and set it to be a shared network location. Select 'home user/not publicly available'.

Now when you enter the file history screen all you need do is hover (or click) over 'Desktop' and the shared folder should be showing as available to use. If needed, copy the file path of the folder into the initial setting up screen of file history.

 

how to use file history in a folder stored anywhere

• just create a folder where you want you file history to be (in a partition or in your C*Smile.
• Enable sharing (right click, property)
• the "network path" will appear (ex: \\ME-PC\windows File History). Copy it.
• Run "filehistory"
• select drive / add network location
• in the field 'folder' past your network path.

 

This of course works - File History can point to any shared folder on the network, even one on the same physical drive. It does however reduce the protection afforded by File History. You will loose your File History in the event of a drive failure - just when you need it the most.

I have mine pointing to a shared folder on another drive. It's an external HDD plugged into the USB socket on the back of my router, effectively a cheap and cheerful alternative to a NAS.

 

Indeed. In addition when your backup drive is disconnected it saves versions to
%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory\Data and this is flushed automatically to backup drive when it is connected. In case of disk failure File History is only good up until the last time backup drive was connected.