Windows 10: Previous backup not appearing in File History

My PC laptop is having a keyboard issue, and it was recommended that I back up my files and reset my computer + clear files to see if the issue resolved itself. After resetting my computer, I am trying to restore my files to the backup I made on an external hard drive using Windows Backup. However, when I plug in my hard drive and go to Windows Backup > Restore Files from a corrent backup, I cannot see the backup I made yesterday before I reset my computer. When I open the external hard drive directly, there is a folder called "FileHistory" where I can see that folders were backed up from my C drive and Program Files folders, but I'd rather not individually copy and paste all of these folders back onto my computer each file has a longer title from the backup that's inconvenient.


How can I make the backup show up in the File History window and restore files automatically?

:)

 

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?

 

File History restart

Hi Jim,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community forums.



To change the backup drive for File History, the current process should be stopped. I suggest you to try the steps listed below to stop file history on an older drive and restart it on a new drive:



Change File History backup drive:

• Open Settings and navigate to Update & Security > Backup.
  
• Click on More Options, scroll down to locate
  Backup to a different drive section, and choose Stop Using Drive.
  
• Plug in the new storage drive, navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Backup,
  and choose Add a Drive.
  
• Restart File History and configure it by referring to the article
  
  File History in Windows.
  

Hope it helps.

Regards,

 

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?