Windows 8 Has a Great New Backup Feature. It’s Called File History......
When people talk about Windows 8, they usually can’t think of anything more noteworthy to discuss than whether they like the Modern interface and all its Live Tiles or hate them. Windows 8, though, is more than just a pretty face. It offers upgraded features throughout. One of the most useful new features that Windows 8 offers goes by the name File History. If you know of the well-loved Time Machine feature on Mac OS X, File History is just like it.
Windows File History allows you to create automatic backups of your files to a flash drive or a drive connected over a network (File History doesn’t allow you to create backups to a local internal hard drive installed right on your computer). When you lose a file or simply wish to take a look at an older version of a file, you are able to access this backed up version. File History and Windows 8 exist alongside of the Backup feature that was first seen in Windows 7. File History is considered a more advanced version.
How to enable File History
File History is an item on the Control Panel. If you don’t want to hunt around, you can simply type File History in Windows Search under Settings. When you click on the shortcut, the File History window opens up. You need to connect an external drive to your computer and then tap on the Turn On button to activate File History.
If you wish to enable File History backups to a networked drive, you simply need to choose Select drive on the left. As soon as File History is activated, Windows begins to save a copy of everything you have in Libraries, Favorites, Contacts and Desktop automatically to the drive you’ve chosen.
Tweaking the settings
If you are not happy with the default folders that Windows chooses to back up, you can use the Exclude folders option on the sidebar to the left. This option gives you the choice to remove folders from the list of locations that File History backs up. If you wish to add new folders, this isn’t the place to do it. You simply need to go to the folder you wish to see backed up, right-click on it, select Include in library and then pick the library that is sent to get backed up.
By default, Windows backs your computer up every hour. You can change this to whatever frequency you wish by going to Advanced Settings on the sidebar.
Since Windows backs up your files and folders to removable drives, what happens if the removable drive is not present at any given point? Windows has an answer to that – the off-line cache. If the marked drive is temporarily off-line, Windows will merely create a temporary backup to your local disk and then get the main removable disk caught up when it’s online again.
Accessing your backups when you need them
Getting your files back couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is to open the folder that contains your files and then click on the History button on the Home tab to look at all previous saved versions available.
If your files are gone, you simply need to go to File History and then click on the link on the sidebar that says Restore personal files . Right away, Windows puts a copy of the file in the folder it was originally present in.
When people talk about Windows 8, they usually can’t think of anything more noteworthy to discuss than whether they like the Modern interface and all its Live Tiles or hate them. Windows 8, though, is more than just a pretty face. It offers upgraded features throughout. One of the most useful new features that Windows 8 offers goes by the name File History. If you know of the well-loved Time Machine feature on Mac OS X, File History is just like it.
Windows File History allows you to create automatic backups of your files to a flash drive or a drive connected over a network (File History doesn’t allow you to create backups to a local internal hard drive installed right on your computer). When you lose a file or simply wish to take a look at an older version of a file, you are able to access this backed up version. File History and Windows 8 exist alongside of the Backup feature that was first seen in Windows 7. File History is considered a more advanced version.
How to enable File History
File History is an item on the Control Panel. If you don’t want to hunt around, you can simply type File History in Windows Search under Settings. When you click on the shortcut, the File History window opens up. You need to connect an external drive to your computer and then tap on the Turn On button to activate File History.
If you wish to enable File History backups to a networked drive, you simply need to choose Select drive on the left. As soon as File History is activated, Windows begins to save a copy of everything you have in Libraries, Favorites, Contacts and Desktop automatically to the drive you’ve chosen.
Tweaking the settings
If you are not happy with the default folders that Windows chooses to back up, you can use the Exclude folders option on the sidebar to the left. This option gives you the choice to remove folders from the list of locations that File History backs up. If you wish to add new folders, this isn’t the place to do it. You simply need to go to the folder you wish to see backed up, right-click on it, select Include in library and then pick the library that is sent to get backed up.
By default, Windows backs your computer up every hour. You can change this to whatever frequency you wish by going to Advanced Settings on the sidebar.
Since Windows backs up your files and folders to removable drives, what happens if the removable drive is not present at any given point? Windows has an answer to that – the off-line cache. If the marked drive is temporarily off-line, Windows will merely create a temporary backup to your local disk and then get the main removable disk caught up when it’s online again.
Accessing your backups when you need them
Getting your files back couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is to open the folder that contains your files and then click on the History button on the Home tab to look at all previous saved versions available.
If your files are gone, you simply need to go to File History and then click on the link on the sidebar that says Restore personal files . Right away, Windows puts a copy of the file in the folder it was originally present in.
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