Windows 10: Unable to find or restore Windows backup after reinstall

I made a backup before reinstalling Windows 10 Pro to a bigger hard drive, and now I'm stuck trying to restore the files and not delete them... I initially went to restore and it seemed like it couldn't find them (I think I may have misread something though), so I found them in the file path like this:

F:\FileHistory\Me\MyPC\Data\C\Users\Me

I then copied over one of the folders (the one I needed the most, but it was huge), and then after a while noticed the file names had dates appended to them, like this:

Valuable document 1 (2020_02_16 01_34_47 UTC).txt

There's about 300GB of files, and I'm sure you can understand not wanting them named like this or having to change them.

I moved them back, but there were actually 2 "MyPC" folders, and I think I may have moved them to the other folder!

F:\FileHistory\Me\MyPC (2)\Data\C\Users\Me

Now that I've found the backups in Backup Settings, I get a warning that I'm not sure I understand...





The "User name" (Me) and "Computer name" (MyPC) values are the same, and I get the pop-up warning for both "Last backup dates"... and I don't understand what exactly the warning is trying to tell me to do!

"File History" - "Do you want to use this drive for File History again?" - "This drive doesn't have your most recent files. To restore those files, you'll need to reselect the drive you last used."

But... the Backup (F) drive is the only one I made the backup on; that's the only drive to be "last used". I don't know what it's trying to tell me. I don't know if I screwed something up. I don't want to lose my backup if I click something I don't really understand.

Sorry to be an idiot... I really am not seeing how to fix this. Thanks for your patience.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, I just discovered File History in Control Panel, but I seem to be in a conundrum now...





So, I clicked on "Restore personal files", which brought me to the "Home - File History" window, which says "No file history was found" and "File History is currently turned off".

I click "Configure File History settings", and it opens the window I was at which says "File History is on"... :facepalm:

I have a "Run now" link below the drive, and then a "Turn off" button below the box... I'm completely confused now.

Is File History on or off? Why am I being told in Restore that it's off, but Backup that it's on? If I click "Run now", will it run the backup of my current files on the new hard drive and wipe the backed-up files on the external drive?

I'm about ready to yank the plug out of the external drive, but I'm too busy ripping my hair out.

:)

 

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Haven't used it but sounds like it based on Backup and Restore Center info found here. Says you can choose what files and folders if you want and also mentions a system image. Quicken has it's own backup option under one of the menus, use that too. I have for my mom and it's a breeze. Just reinstall app and use Restore in Quicken.

 

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