What if something goes wrong in File History?

If something goes wrong in File History, you'll see a message appear in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar. You can tap or click it to go directly to Action Center where you can fix the problem. If you miss the notification, you can open Action Center in Control Panel. Here are some notifications you might see and actions you can take to solve the problems.

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Select a different File History drive

If your File History drive is full or almost full, there are two things you can do. You can either replace the drive and move your existing files to the new drive, or start over with the new drive.

To select a different drive

  1. Tap or click to open File History.

  2. Tap or click Change drive.

  3. On the Change your File History drive page, do one of the following:

    • To use a new external drive, connect the drive to your PC, refresh the page, and then tap or click OK.

    • To use a network location, tap or click Add network location, browse to or enter a location, tap or click Select folder, and then tap or click OK.

  4. If you want to copy all of the versions of your files to the new drive, tap or click Yes. If not, tap or click No.

Change how long File History keeps files

Your File History drive is full or almost full, but you can free up some space by changing how often File History saves your files and how long older versions of your files are kept.

To change File History settings

  1. Tap or click to open File History.

  2. Tap or click Advanced settings.

  3. On the Advanced settings page, do one of the following:

    • Next to Save copies of files, tap or click the drop-down list, and choose a time interval.

    • Next to Keep saved versions, tap or click the drop-down list, and choose a time interval.

  4. Tap or click Save changes.

Reconnect your drive

Your File History drive has been disconnected for too long, or it doesn't have enough space to save temporary versions of your files. To continue saving copies of your files, you'll need to reconnect your File History drive.

To reconnect your drive

  1. Reconnect your File History drive to your PC.

  2. Tap or click to open File History.

  3. Tap or click Reconnect drive.

Reselect your File History drive

There are errors in your File History settings that can be fixed by reselecting your File History drive.

To reselect your drive

  1. Tap or click to open File History.

  2. Tap or click Select drive.

  3. On the Select a File History drive page, tap or click your current drive or network location, and then tap or click OK.

Check your File History drive for errors

There are errors in your File History drive that need to be repaired.

To repair your drive

Reenter your network credentials

There's a problem with your user name or password, or both. First, make sure the network is still available and you can still access it. If so, you can enter your credentials again to continue saving copies of your files.

To reenter your network credentials

  1. Tap or click to open File History.

  2. Tap or click Reenter credentials.

  3. In the Windows Security dialog box, enter your user name and password, select the Remember my credentials check box, and then tap or click OK.

    If you don't see the Windows Security dialog box, refresh the page.

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