Windows 10: Windows Backup confused about Documents folder.

I backed up to an external HDD, and when I selected folders to back up, I carefully picked what I wanted including Documents. After backup ran, I looked at what was on the drive. All the correct folders were there, but Documents had nothing in it, only a desktop.ini file. There seem to be 2 folders called Documents. If I look at Windows Explorer the Documents folder is there with all its sub-folders. But if I go to the path C:\users\Les\Documents I'm told that "the folder is empty". This seems to be what Backup is using, despite my selecting the one with the sub-folders. What is going on?


I tried backing up with a 3rd party app (Paragon) but the same thing happens. I am unable to back up my Documents folder whatever I do.

:)

 

Downloads folder is the Documents folder

Hi Chris,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

I suggest you to Restore to Default the folders and document settings and see if it helps.

Step 1:

Please follow below steps and check if it helps.

• Go to Download folder.
• Right click on the Download Folder and go to Properties.
• In Properties go to Location tab.
• In location Tab Click on Restore Default.

Step 2:

Please follow below steps and check if it helps.

• Go to Documents folder.
• Right click on the Document folder and go to Properties.
• In Properties go to Location tab.
• In location Tab Click on Restore Default.

After performing above steps change the settings as you required and check if it helps.

Hope these information helps, please get back to us for future support, we’ll be glad to assist you further.

Thank you.

 

Windows Backup Confusion

After I specifically added the errant folder to my list of folders to backup, I was able to back it up. Normally, if a root folder, say Documents, is added to the backup list, all folders beneath the root folder are also backed up. But, apparently, this
doesn't happen if a folder is added under a root folder after a previous backup has already taken place. Anyway, the backup is working now, but I think I'll still look for a third-party backup system. I don't really like the Microsoft method.

 

Cheap automatic backup for My Documents

Then use the Robocopy command. Here is the bat file I use to backup my data:

Code: @ECHO. @ECHO Backing Up @ECHO. @robocopy C:\Users\Administrator\Documents C:\Backup\Documents /MIR /ZB >> log.txt @ECHO. @ECHO Success! @Pause[/quote] This will only backup files that are new or changed, so after the first backup, it is a lot quicker than recopying every file every time you backup. Also if you delete a file from your documents folder, say because you don't need it anymore, it will be removed from the backup location also.