Any way to make windows File History to backup folder stuff only manually as well as remove them?

File History isn't my main means of backup but it's sure nice to have, as I'm not backup every little file every day and rather do it in chunks after some months, and being able to check if one files got delete by mistake simply by right clicking on the folder helps a lot.

In windows 7/8 days, a system restore would've create folder history for all of your folders iirc,
Since win10/11 MS changed it so we will have File History instead which is more limited as well as broken by our beloved MS to this day,

How it's more limited? not just that it backup stuff from the user folder only and completely ignores my other drives,
it also not let me have the option to backup stuff only manually, which means it will always at least backup my stuff after a day at most or every 10 mins at the least when it's Enabled (you can tell it to start it manually but you can't turn it off from doing it automatically in other words which will eat away your drive space).

How is it broken? after some MS update from 2023 we now can't use its clean-up option to clean the files from it and instead got an error (even the FhManagew command not seems to help at this point).


So I have 3 questions here:

1. Is there any way to make it backup stuff only manually by changing something in its plan or the reg so I won't need to be limited by MS's automatic backup plans which are forced on the user and eat the drive space?

2. Is there a way to also include other drives to backup (I mean to backup the files that are in them, not to make File History to place its backups in them) like in win7/8 days?
(If you know of any tool that specifically replace File History and does a better job, please let me know)

3. Is there a way to remove my file history at all?
Right now any clean-up option is completely broken, the clean-up button as well as the FhManagew CMD command will give me "element not found" error and even after resetting the thing it still the case and seem to be global, so I'm not the only one who got it.


Using the tool as is will simply kill my drive little by little, any help to solve it will be appreciated

I don't have it turned on so no issue, I store everything on my NAS drive.

I've used Microsoft File History for years as part of my backup strategy.

I have a dedicated 2 TB Samsung T7 SSD that is only used for File History. At the rate the T7 is filling up, it will certainly outlive me.

I only connect the T7 to update File History once a day or so and its only connected for less than a minute.



My backup strategy:
1. Microsoft OneDrive
2. Microsoft File History
3. Macrium Reflect Images

1. I suppose you could always decide to just turn it off again until the next time. For easy access maybe consider making a desktop shortcut to
%windir%\System32\FileHistory.exe to open the File History window maximized or to
control /name Microsoft.FileHistory to open the window with its last-remembered position and size.

2. Also note that the folder depth of the sub-folders you want to be included must be limited.

3. Use File History Cleanup to Delete Older Versions of Files in Windows 11 Tutorial
Also, in the File History folder (see the example pic below), you can simply select whatever the files you want deleted from File History (you can press Ctrl+A to select them all if that's what you want), and press Shift+Del to delete them from File History.

TraderGary said:

I've used Microsoft File History for years as part of my backup strategy.

I have a dedicated 2 TB Samsung T7 SSD that is only used for File History. At the rate the T7 is filling up, it will certainly outlive me.

I only connect the T7 to update File History once a day or so and its only connected for less than a minute.

View attachment 89098

My backup strategy:
1. Microsoft OneDrive
2. Microsoft File History
3. Macrium Reflect Images

Click to expand...

That's the main reason I'm looking for a way to use it with more control,
It was 1000000 times more useful in OSs like Win7 before MS sepearated and broke the entire thing in win10/11

In Win7 I could create file history for the folders simply by creating a restore point whenever and anytime I want
(Also iirc it would've made file history backup for most folders and not just for the files that are in the user folder)

On win10 and 11 they limited our options for only backup stuff that are in the user folders and gave us limited options that sucks up HDD space pretty hard,
And broke the way to remove the files via the tool itself (and with CMD too, so only way to remove it is manually)

hdmi said:

1. I suppose you could always decide to just turn it off again until the next time. For easy access maybe consider making a desktop shortcut to
%windir%\System32\FileHistory.exe to open the File History window maximized or to
control /name Microsoft.FileHistory to open the window with its last-remembered position and size.

2.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows11/comments/rvdwul/windows_11_file_history_get_around_removal_of_add

Also note that the folder depth of the sub-folders you want to be included must be limited.

3. Use File History Cleanup to Delete Older Versions of Files in Windows 11 Tutorial
Also, in the File History folder (see the example pic below), you can simply select whatever the files you want deleted from File History (you can press Ctrl+A to select them all if that's what you want), and press Shift+Del to delete them from File History.

Click to expand...

Turning it off mess it up from exp, only way to proper reset it afterwards is be compeletly reset it by remove old files and files at the History files folder.
And removing stuff via the tool itself or CMD not works anymore as stated above :/
MS broke it with some update and kept it that way,

I also never was aware we had the option to include folders there, kinda suchs we're forced to add things to the Library consider how in Win7 that even wasn't required.

Are there any ways to get more options via reg or CMD to make it to never backup things up automatically till I press the start backup button manually?

egozi44 said:

That's the main reason I'm looking for a way to use it with more control,
It was 1000000 times more useful in OSs like Win7 before MS sepearated and broke the entire thing in win10/11

In Win7 I could create file history for the folders simply by creating a restore point whenever and anytime I want
(Also iirc it would've made file history backup for most folders and not just for the files that are in the user folder)

On win10 and 11 they limited our options for only backup stuff that are in the user folders and gave us limited options that sucks up HDD space pretty hard,
And broke the way to remove the files via the tool itself (and with CMD too, so only way to remove it is manually)

Click to expand...

You have confused Microsoft File History with System Restore.

When Windows 8 made its public debut in October 2012, one of the new features it introduced to users was File History. Windows 7 did not have File History as you claim to have used. You were using the System Restore feature.

Back then it may had other name, but did nearly the same thing, hack even did it better,
It had the same UI when I've right click a folder, open its properties, and wanted to restore a single file or a folder,

There the backup folder points would've show up after you make a restore point, but it's not the case in later wins ver since MS changed it.

Ok I've looked into how you can restore the files Previous version via Restore instead and it seem to be possible by these guides




However after creating the task it doesn't seem to do much aside running if I tells it to run manually without a trigger (as I want from it to run only manually),
My disk space didn't changed, and no options appear in the files Previous version,
Also the task seem to stop running as soon as I close the ‏‏Task Scheduler which is weird consider it should keep running,
But either way it doesn't seem to create previous versions of files even if I leave it running in the background for hours,

Could it be that it's only works if you set it with a trigger over start it manually?

EDIT​

Ok, dam :/
No wonder I can't get it to work, MS broke that too in some updates after ver 22H2

It seems Microsoft removed access for the Previous Versions tab in File Explorer; this will only work when using File History.
If you are using wmic shadowcopy call create Volume='C:\' you will need to use a 3rd party tool to view and extract files like ShadowExplorer or ShadowCopyView. The copies are been created, just that Microsoft for all their wisdom have hidden them.

Click to expand...

And Idk how to use Shadowcopy viewer to watch my copies assuming they're being made at all

egozi44 said:

That's the main reason I'm looking for a way to use it with more control,
It was 1000000 times more useful in OSs like Win7 before MS sepearated and broke the entire thing in win10/11

In Win7 I could create file history for the folders simply by creating a restore point whenever and anytime I want

Click to expand...

See what @TraderGary posted, you are confusing 2 completely different things here. That is, even though they both rely on snapshots that are created through the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

egozi44 said:

(Also iirc it would've made file history backup for most folders and not just for the files that are in the user folder)

On win10 and 11 they limited our options for only backup stuff that are in the user folders and gave us limited options that sucks up HDD space pretty hard,

Click to expand...

See the Reddit discussion thread that I previously linked.

egozi44 said:

And broke the way to remove the files via the tool itself (and with CMD too, so only way to remove it is manually)

Click to expand...

Do you mean this? Use File History Cleanup to Delete Older Versions of Files in Windows 11 Tutorial
Normally it should work.

egozi44 said:

Turning it off mess it up from exp, only way to proper reset it afterwards is be compeletly reset it by remove old files and files at the History files folder.
And removing stuff via the tool itself or CMD not works anymore as stated above :/
MS broke it with some update and kept it that way,

Click to expand...

I suppose that you could always decide to create your own library so you can add all the folders you want to it, and, next, refer to steps 6 and 7 in the tutorial to exclude that library. Set up File History in Windows 11 Tutorial
Then when you want File History to create a new snapshot of your library, you can follow similar steps to temporarily remove the library from the list of exclusions before choosing Run now (see step 11 in the tutorial). In addition to the discussion thread on Reddit, also refer to the list of commands at the bottom of this post: How is automatic cleanup of File History triggered in Windows 8.1 and 10?

egozi44 said:

I also never was aware we had the option to include folders there, kinda suchs we're forced to add things to the Library consider how in Win7 that even wasn't required.

Click to expand...

See above. Being forced to use the library feature isn't that much of a problem, as you can just create your own custom library for this purpose if that's what you want.

egozi44 said:

Are there any ways to get more options via reg or CMD to make it to never backup things up automatically till I press the start backup button manually?

Click to expand...

Maybe write a simple batchfile that:

1. uses the methods described on Reddit to temporarily remove the library from the list of exclusions, and
2. FhManageW -backupnow
3. re-adds the library to the list of exclusions

egozi44 said:

Ok I've looked into how you can restore the files Previous version via Restore instead and it seem to be possible by these guides

How to enable Previous Versions to recover files on Windows 11/10

Enable Previous Versions to recover files on Windows via File History or Task Scheduler. You can then restore previous versions of files.

www.thewindowsclub.com

How to enable Previous Versions to recover files on Windows 11 - Pureinfotech

To enable Previous Versions on Windows 11, set up File History, System Restore, or Shadow Copies, then use File Explorer to restore files.

pureinfotech.com

However after creating the task it doesn't seem to do much aside running if I tells it to run manually without a trigger (as I want from it to run only manually),
My disk space didn't changed, and no options appear in the files Previous version,
Also the task seem to stop running as soon as I close the ‏‏Task Scheduler which is weird consider it should keep running,
But either way it doesn't seem to create previous versions of files even if I leave it running in the background for hours,

Could it be that it's only works if you set it with a trigger over start it manually?

EDIT​

Ok, dam :/
No wonder I can't get it to work, MS broke that too in some updates after ver 22H2

Windows 11 - Previous versions, cannot seem to get it working.

So back on windows 7 it was fairly straightforward, right click a file, choose properties and previous versions. When I moved to windows 10, I had to manually enable the Shadow copy service and set it to automatic startup, plus enable the system protection which was not enabled by default on a...

www.elevenforum.com

And Idk how to use Shadowcopy viewer to watch my copies assuming they're being made at all

Click to expand...

You don't need to use Task Scheduler if the only goal is to start creating one or more snapshots manually. The command to create a snapshot of volume E: is wmic shadowcopy call create Volume=E: (run as an Administrator). In the comments section under the TheWindowsClub article you linked, someone noted that the selector on the "Previous Versions" tab of the Properties panel in File Explorer seems to be broken, but then you can still work around that problem. FIX: There are no previous versions available but System Protection is enabled in Windows 10. (Solved)

To be able to identify what snapshots you have when some of them are restore points and others are not, and to be able to choose what snapshots you want to individually delete, etc., see my post here: Turn On or Off System Protection for Drives in Windows 11 Tutorial

Once you know the correct location of the snapshot that you want to explore contents of, it also is possible to mount it as a drive letter, which can help to avoid certain problems like explained here: Mounting Shadow Copy Version as a Drive Letter — Steemit

Once you know the correct Shadow Copy ID of the snapshot in question, you could also decide to create a directory symbolic link to it, and consider to use that instead. ALT Technical Consulting - Map shadow copy as drive

EDIT: Alternatively, you can mount the snapshot:
vssadmin mount shadow /for=<Shadow Copy ID>
In the command above, substitute <Shadow Copy ID> with the Shadow Copy ID of the snapshot.

See what @TraderGary posted, you are confusing 2 completely different things here. That is, even though they both rely on snapshots that are created through the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

Click to expand...

You can't blame people for being confused over something that use the same UI and may do something else behind the scenes but at the end of the day give nearly the same results just more limited, and as some people clamied even MS shoved it over as the "new" thing that will improve the former one which is def not case and confused people who don't know about it (like me xD) even further.

See the Reddit discussion thread that I previously linked.

Click to expand...

Sorry for not reporting back about it, I've read and saw all that was sent here, it did enlighten me that there was an option to include folders which was removed and now people use the library as workaround for the missing button till MS will decide to break it too,
But I don't really want to use libraries for that if there are better alternavies out there (I may give it a try to see how it looks like later though)

Do you mean this? Use File History Cleanup to Delete Older Versions of Files in Windows 11 Tutorial
Normally it should work.

Click to expand...

Normally yes, but from my tests it didn't worked, and looking through google I've seen people complains they all got this issue and that it started after X update, which means that MS broke it, and I can't roll back as my PC was clean installed with H23 from the git go, and from what I've got it was broken much before that (might be even since win 10 earlier days)

I suppose that you could always decide to create your own library so you can add all the folders you want to it, and, next, refer to steps 6 and 7 in the tutorial to exclude that library. Set up File History in Windows 11 Tutorial
Then when you want File History to create a new snapshot of your library, you can follow similar steps to temporarily remove the library from the list of exclusions before choosing Run now (see step 11 in the tutorial). In addition to the discussion thread on Reddit, also refer to the list of commands at the bottom of this post: How is automatic cleanup of File History triggered in Windows 8.1 and 10?

Click to expand...

See above. Being forced to use the library feature isn't that much of a problem, as you can just create your own custom library for this purpose if that's what you want.

Click to expand...

1. uses the methods described on Reddit to temporarily remove the library from the list of exclusions, and
2. FhManageW -backupnow
3. re-adds the library to the list of exclusions

Click to expand...

I know it's kinda rude to say that consider I'm the one who's asking for solutions here, But I think it's too much of a work which not worth it comapred to the two clicks I could've done on back when I've used it on 7 or with the wmic task method that MS seem to broke recently, or comapred to the System Restore+shadowcopyview alternatives,
I may use it as last resort but I really don't like how FH doesn't give us control with manual backup or easily remove them, it eat my drive away before I notice it.

You don't need to use Task Scheduler if the only goal is to start creating one or more snapshots manually. The command to create a snapshot of volume E: is wmic shadowcopy call create Volume=E: (run as an Administrator). In the comments section under the TheWindowsClub article you linked, someone noted that the selector on the "Previous Versions" tab of the Properties panel in File Explorer seems to be broken, but then you can still work around that problem. FIX: There are no previous versions available but System Protection is enabled in Windows 10. (Solved)

To be able to identify what snapshots you have when some of them are restore points and others are not, and to be able to choose what snapshots you want to individually delete, etc., see my post here: Turn On or Off System Protection for Drives in Windows 11 Tutorial


Once you know the correct location of the snapshot that you want to explore contents of, it also is possible to mount it as a drive letter, which can help to avoid certain problems like explained here: Mounting Shadow Copy Version as a Drive Letter — Steemit

Once you know the correct Shadow Copy ID of the snapshot in question, you could also decide to create a directory symbolic link to it, and consider to use that instead. ALT Technical Consulting - Map shadow copy as drive

EDIT: Alternatively, you can mount the snapshot:
vssadmin mount shadow /for=<Shadow Copy ID>
In the command above, substitute <Shadow Copy ID> with the Shadow Copy ID of the snapshot.

Click to expand...

Thx for the info,
I'm creating restore points manually each few days I want something to be backup, so rather than CMD or other commands I rather just stick to System Restore+shadowcopyview which is better than nothing and more easier than doing too many steps like with FH,

Still I wish we could make/fix the system restore so it work the same way it did before MS broke it so we could easily see file previous versions with a right click over using 3rd apps, use some external drive with FH or system backup that will be eat away by few hours since we have less control over the latter~

From what you wrote in your reply above, it seems clear to me that, in addition to confusing restore points with File History, you also are confusing the general concept of storage snapshots with the general concept of data backups. See: What Is a Storage Snapshot? | Definition from TechTarget

I think you don't got me at this point,
You were right, point was taken few replies after the first post and moved onward long after,

Rn I just want a way to be able to to get the files back from a shadow copy as File History just bad in any way possible,
Initially I've wanted it to be via Restore Previous Version with a simple right click on the file/folder, but MS seem to have broken it behind repair atm if you use the system restore method,

So far I've tried apps like shadowcopyview or ShadowExplorer,
At first I had some issue where they can only view my files from the shadow copies I've made and not being able to actually extract them (when I extract a file, the file is created but unreadable)

But I've managed to solve it by open them as admin (was sure they where already opened with admin rights cause it pormpted to the TUC screen).
Overall I still wish I could use the Restore Previous Version via shadow copies over the horrible File History consider how broken and limited it's but beggar can't be choosers,

If there will be any way to fix it in the future I will be glad to know how, but for now I ganna stick to Shadowcopyview / ShadowExplorer,