Does File History Back up Everything? Answered!

Detailed explanation of Windows file history backup function: What files are backed up?

The file history function that comes with Windows is an effective way to maintain data security. But you might be wondering: Does the file history back up all files? If not, what files does it back up? This article will answer you.

What is file history?

File history is a powerful feature in Windows 10/11 that allows you to back up files and folders to another disk or network location. It creates a folder named FileHistory in the target disk of your choice and copies the selected files/folders for backup.

In addition, you can choose how often you back up the file and how long you save the backup version. You can also delete file/folder versions before a specific date, except for the latest versions.

Does the file history back up all files?

The answer is no. Details are as follows:

What files do Windows file history backup?

While file history is a good choice for data backup, it does not back up all files on your computer. It backs up specific folders under your user account, including documents, pictures, videos, music, downloads, desktops, contacts, links, favorites, offline OneDrive files, and more.

It does not back up installed programs, configured Windows settings, and the Windows operating system itself.

Additionally, if you do not want to back up a specific folder, you can remove it from the backup source. To configure the file history backup source, you can go to Windows Settings > Update and Security > Backup . Then, click More Options under " Use File History Backup ". In a new window, you can add folders to be backed up or exclude certain folders.

How long does it take to backup file history?

There is no definite answer to the time it takes to backup file history. The length of time may be related to factors such as computer hardware status, data transmission speed, backup source size, etc.

Depending on the user experience, file history can take several hours to several days, especially when you use it for the first time.

Further reading:

• Fix "We found errors in your file history settings" and restore data
• [Solved] File history cannot recognize this drive in Win10/11?

Better file backup methods

While file history can meet basic data backup needs, it also has obvious disadvantages. For example, it only copies files/folders under the user account, and a file history backup takes up a lot of space on the drive because the copy is not compressed. Additionally, it usually takes a long time to complete the entire backup process.

Here, we highly recommend using MiniTool ShadowMaker for file backup. It is a professional backup software that can not only back up files/folders, but also backup Windows systems, partitions and entire disks.

Even more exciting is that the software offers a 30-day free trial, allowing you to enjoy most of its features for free in 30 days.

Now click the button below to download and install MiniTool ShadowMaker and try it out.

Summarize

Does the file history back up all files? As mentioned above, of course not. If you want to break through this limit and back up all files, you can use MiniTool ShadowMaker.

If you have any questions about this article or MiniTool software, please feel free to send a message to us via [Contact Information].

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