How to Back Up and Restore Your Files, Apps, and Settings in Windows

That critical and irreplaceable file you were viewing the other day in Windows is lost or won’t open. Are you in trouble? Not if you’ve been using File History. Available in Windows 10 and Windows 11, this feature will automatically save specific file folders to a backup device, allowing you to recover a previous version of a file should it go missing or become unusable.

Are you moving to a brand new computer and want to copy certain files, settings, and apps from your current PC? For that, you can turn to the Windows Backup Tool. Built into Window 10 and 11, this tool will back up and restore key folders, apps, settings, and credentials from one PC to another. Here’s how to use File History and the new Backup tool to back up and restore your files.

Set Up a Storage Device

First, make sure you have a viable drive connected to, or accessible from, your PC. This could be a simple flash drive, an external drive, or a network location through network-attached storage. If your drive plugs into the computer, make sure to connect it before trying anything else. For a wireless network drive, it must be connected to power and properly mapped.

Note that File History will automatically run on a regular basis, so any external drive you use must always remain connected and accessible.

How to Use File History in Windows 10

To set up File History on a Windows 10 PC, connect your backup device, then open to Settings > Update & Security > Backup and click Add a drive under the Back up using File History header. Select the location you wish to use for your backups.

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File History will now be enabled, but it isn’t backing up any files yet. Before it can get started, you’ll need to click the More options link to set up a few parameters regarding when File History should run and how long it should store your old backups.

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Open the drop-down menu for Back up my files and choose how frequently you wish to back up your files, from every 10 minutes to Daily. Then click the Keep my backups drop-down menu and select how long you want to retain your backed up files—from Until space is needed to Forever.

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By default, File History will begin backing up a selection of folders, including Desktop, Downloads, Music, and more. However, you can remove some of these folders from the mix. Review the list of default folders included in the backup. Select any folder you do not wish to be included and choose Remove to exclude it.

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To add any folders not listed, click the Add a folder button under the Back up these folders heading. You can also exclude specific folders if you click the Add a folder button under Exclude these folders. Once you’ve customized the File History feature to your liking, click the Back up now button at the top of the page.

Windows will then start backing up the folders and files included in your backup set. After your backup has finished, Windows displays the size, date, and time of the backup.

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If you ever want to change your backup destination, you must first stop using your current drive. Open Backup settings and click More options. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Stop using Drive. Return to the Backup screen and click Add a drive so you can restart the setup process and choose the new backup destination.

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If you wish to stop using File History completely, go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup and switch off the Automatically back up my files option.

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Now, let’s say that an important file has gone missing or has become corrupted. Use your File History backup to restore it. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup and click the More options link. Scroll down to the bottom of the File History window and click Restore files from a current backup.

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Windows displays all the folders that have been backed up by File History. Double-click the folder you want, then double-click the file to view it. If it’s the file you need, click the green button at the bottom of the window to restore the file.

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If the original file is gone, Windows automatically restores it to its previous location. If the file is corrupted but still exists in its original location, Windows lets you replace it, keep the original file as it is, or compare both files.

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How to Use File History in Windows 11

Microsoft made the File History feature a bit more limited and harder to enable in Windows 11. You can no longer add other folders to the mix, so you’re limited to just Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop, as well as any offline OneDrive files stored on your PC. If you need to back up any files not included in the mix in Windows 11, Microsoft suggests that you add them to one of the default folders.

If that’s not workable, you should consider a third-party backup program with more options and greater flexibility than File History. Otherwise, here’s how to set up File History to save your important documents, photos, and files before something goes wrong.

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In Windows 11, Microsoft removed File History from the Settings screen and moved it to Control Panel. The quickest way to use the feature is to click the Search icon in the taskbar and search for “File History,” then select the result. Alternatively, open Control Panel in icon view and click the applet for File History.

File History searches for any compatible drive connected to your PC and picks one. If you don’t want to use the chosen drive, click the Select drive link. You can then choose the drive you wish to use, then click OK.

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At the File History screen, click Exclude folders if you want to remove any folders from the backup. Unlike in Windows 10, File History in Windows 11 does not display a prebuilt list of folders for you to exclude. Instead, you have to manually add folders. Click Add and then select any folder you wish to exclude. When done, click Save changes.

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Click Advanced settings from the File History screen. Open the drop-down menu for Save copies of files to set how often File History should run, from every 10 minutes to daily.

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Then click the menu for Keep saved versions to determine how long the file backups should be kept, from Until space is needed to Forever. Click Save changes when finished. From the File History screen, click the Turn on button to kick off the initial backup.

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If you ever want to change the backup destination, return to the File History page in Control Panel and click the Select drive link. You can then choose the new drive and click OK.

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Windows will ask if you want to move the previous backed up files to the new location. Click Yes to make the move. You can stop File History from backing up your files at any time by returning to the feature’s page in Control Panel and clicking the Turn off button.

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If you need to restore a missing or corrupted file, return to the File History screen in Control Panel. Click the Restore personal files link. From the list of backed up folders, open the folder that contains the file you wish to recover. Click the file you need and then click the green Restore button.

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Windows automatically restores the file to its previous location if the original file is gone. If the file is still in its original location, Windows asks if you want to replace it, skip it, or compare both files.

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The new Windows Backup tool will back up specific folders, apps, settings, and credentials to the cloud. You can then restore all those items to the same PC or a new computer. To use this feature, you need a Microsoft account (work and school accounts aren’t supported, and neither is a local account). You also need adequate storage space. OneDrive offers 5GB for free, but you may need to upgrade to one of the paid Microsoft 365 plans for more storage.

The primary limitation with the Windows Backup tool is that it will back up only certain locations and items. For example, it won’t back up and restore traditional desktop applications, such as Microsoft 365. As such, you need to make sure you have the software and sources for all the desktop programs you need to reinstall.

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To get started, turn to the PC you want to back up. In Windows 10, click the Start button and select Windows Backup from the menu. In Windows 11, click the Start button, go to the All Apps screen, and then select Windows Backup.

The Windows Backup tool offers four different categories to configure—Folders, Apps, Settings, and Credentials. To start, click the down arrow next to Folders and enable the folders you wish to back up.

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Next, click the down arrow next to Apps. Make sure the option is turned on for Quickly access apps on any Windows device as this will generate a list of installed apps so you can more easily recover them when you restore the backup.

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Click the down arrow next to Settings. The screen displays options for Accessibility, Personalization, Language preferences and dictionary, and Other Windows settings. Turn on the switches for any that you need to back up. If you’re unsure, leave all the options enabled.

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Open the down arrow next to Credentials and make sure the switch is turned on for Accounts, Wi-Fi networks and other passwords. When you’re ready, click the Back up button. The items you selected are then backed up to your OneDrive storage.

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As the backup runs, you can minimize the Windows Backup app and work on other tasks. When the entire backup is finished, you’ll see that each of the four categories have been backed up.

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Now, if you reset Windows or switch to a new PC, you can restore your saved files during the setup process. You should see a screen welcoming you back and telling you that you have backups saved from your previous PC. Click the More options link.

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Select the name of the backup of your previous PC and then click the Restore from this PC button. The items that you chose to back up are restored to your new computer. After this process is done, continue with the setup. When finished sign into your PC.

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Check the Start menu, Settings screen, and File Explorer to see which apps and settings have been restored. Any program that needs to be reinstalled will display an arrow with the word Install on the icon. Click the app to either automatically reinstall it or open the Microsoft Store so you can download the program.

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