Using Windows File History Backup and Restore to a WD External Drive

File History in Windows 11 and 10 is a built-in backup tool.
It saves copies of your data to an external drive or network share.

Need more help?
Microsoft Article: How to Perform a Backup Using File History in Windows 11 or Windows 10

File History backups vary based on the Windows version.

How to Backup

1. Type Control Panel in the search box.
   Press the enter key.
   
   Need more help?
   Microsoft Article: Locating the search box in Windows 10 and 11
   
   



2. Change View by: to the Large icons if the view is set to Category.
   Click File History.
   
   

   



3. Click Select drive.
   
   

   



4. Select a drive from available drives or choose Add network location.
   
   

   



5. Click Advanced settings.
   
   

   

   
   Click Every hour (default) drop-down list to adjust how often to save files.
   Click Forever (default) drop-down list to adjust how long to keep a saved version.
   Click Save changes.
   
   

   



6. Click Exclude folders.
   
   

   

   
   Click Add to add folders to the excluded list.
   Click Save changes.
   
   

   



7. Click Run now to start backup.
   
   

   

How to Restore

1. Type Control Panel in the search box.
   Press the enter key.
   
   Need more help?
   Microsoft Article: Locating the search box in Windows 10 and 11
   
   

   



2. Change View by: to the Large icons if the view is set to Category.
   Click File History.
   
   

   



3. Click Restore personal files.
   
   

   



4. Choose the version to restore from.
   
   

   



5. Select the folders or files to restore.
   Click the green button to Restore to original location.
   
   

   



6. Click the settings icon.
   Choose Restore to. To restore to a different location.
   
   

   



7. Select the folder to restore the backup to.
   Click Select Folder.
   
   

   

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