Which files are backed up with file history?

I took the title of this article as including "What is the structure of the backup? Where is it stored?" so I did some poking around.

Índice Show

What is File History in Windows 10?
Configure File History
Back-Up to a Network Location
Recover Files Using PC Settings
Recover Files Using File Explorer
Clean Up File History
Backing Up Should Be Part of a Regular Routine
Does file History only backup changed files?
Where will file history save files?
Is file history the same as backup?
Does file History backup open files?

When you select a drive for the backup, the file contents will be stored in a folder \FileHistory\userName\computerName where userName is the name of the user that set up the File History, and computerName is the name of the computer which the files are being backed up form.

Under that folder there is a Configuration folder that holds two xml files and an EBD file (a database) that doesn't seem to contain much, and a Data folder that holds copies of the actual files.

Under the Data folder, the first level is the drive name from the original system (e.g. there is a folder D for files backed up from drive D:). Within these first-level folders, the files have exactly the same structure as on the original drive, with two exceptions:

Each file's name has a date (likely the time the backup started) encoded as " {yyyy_mm_dd hh_mm_ss UTC}" (note the leading space) inserted just before the filename extension.
Between adding the encoded date and prefixing the full original file path with \FileHistory\Data some of the filenames can become too long. These files are given numbered names, and placed in (apparently) single-level numbered folders in a folder called $OF directly under Data (thus a sibling to the drive names).

The Modified date of the backup files is the same as the original file. The Created date indicates when that particular backup file was created. The backup file has the R (Read-only) attribute set.

My experiments were done using a FAT/FAT32 file system on a USB thumb drive, so I don't know what sort of permissions would be set on the backup files.

As a more concrete example, I have Microsoft reference source on my system, and some of these files have been backed up to:

F:\FileHistory\kpmartin\TETRON\Data\D\Users\KPMartin\Documents\Reference Source\dotnet462RTM\Source\ndp\fx\src\winforms\Managed\System\WinForms\Printing\PrintDialog {2020_02_02 06_33_12 UTC}.cs, which is a backup of D:\Users\KPMartin\Documents\Reference Source\dotnet462RTM\Source\ndp\fx\src\winforms\Managed\System\WinForms\Printing\PrintDialog.cs
F:\FileHistory\kpmartin\TETRON\Data\$OF\7315\7318 {2020_02_02 06_33_12 UTC}.cs which is a backup of D:\Users\KPMartin\Documents\Reference Source\dotnet462RTM\Source\ndp\fx\src\winforms\Managed\System\WinForms\Printing\PrintControllerWithStatusDialog.cs

The mapping of the numbered names does not appear to be stored with the files themselves in the FileHistory folder on the backup drive. Instead it is stored on the original system, in the user's AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory\Configuration folder, in a database files called Catalog1.edb. Alongside this is an XML files called Config1.xml which appears to contain the actual backup options, including the folder include and exclude lists, as well as the destination drive information. In addition to Catalog1.edb and Config1.edb, there are also Catalog2.edb and Config2.edb which appear to be exact copies of the number-1 counterparts.

The EDB files are a format known as an "ESE Database" which is used all over the place in Windows where a non-relational database is required. Some example besides FileHistory are Active Directory and the index used by Windows desktop search. The gory details on this file format and where it is used are available online. The metadata of this file can be probed using the esentutl.exe command which may exist on more advanced Windows system (I have Windows 10 Enterprise). The linked article mentions two other commands that could also perhaps do some probing. Dumping the actual table contents from the database likely requires writing code, but there is both native and Managed (.NET) support for this.

File History is a built-in tool first introduced in Windows 8 and allows you to back up your data and restore deleted files and modified documents.

Windows 10 includes a lot of helpful features to recover your files or restore your entire system. However, one feature you might not be aware of is called File History. Here’s a look at what it is, how to turn it on, and use it.

What is File History in Windows 10?

File History is a built-in tool that was first introduced in Windows 8. It allows you to recover files you might have accidentally deleted or restore a modified document to an earlier version. It’s essentially like Apple’s Time Machine but for Windows.

To use it, you’ll need an external hard drive or a large-capacity USB flash drive. You can set it up to use a network location, too. File History will automatically back up Favorites, Contacts, Desktop items, and more.

All this data can add up in a hurry, but you can configure File History to exclude certain folders and how often it saves copies of files.

File History is turned off by default. To begin, connect your external drive. Then, open PC Settings from the Start menu and click Update & Security.

On the left pane, click Backup. Then, click Add a drive on the right.

A list of available drives displays on the left. Click the one you want to use.

Configure File History

Once you select a drive, Windows automatically turns on File History.

To configure File History, click More options on the Backup screen.

The Backup options screen allows you to set how often File History backs up your files and how long versions are saved. Select options from the Back up my files and Keep my backups drop-down lists.

File History automatically adds certain folders to the backup. So before you begin the backup process, you can remove folders you don’t want to back up.

Under Back up these folders, select a folder you don’t want to back up and click Remove. Repeat for each folder you want to remove.

You can also specifically exclude folders. So, for example, if there’s a subfolder in one of the folders being backed up that you don’t want to back up, you can exclude that subfolder.

Under Exclude these folders, click Add a folder. Next, select a folder to exclude on the Select Folder dialog box and click Choose this folder.

When you ready to start the backup process, click Back up now under Overview.

You’ll see a message saying File History is backing up your data. But, unfortunately, there is no estimated time listed. So the initial backup may take a while.

Back-Up to a Network Location

As we mentioned previously, you can use a network location for your backup as well. For example, maybe you have a home server or network-attached storage (NAS) box that you want to use.

Go to the Backup options screen, if you’re not already on it, and click See advanced settings under Related settings.

Click Select drive in the right panel on the File History screen in the Control Panel.

On the Select a File History drive screen, you’ll see local and network drives listed. If you don’t see the network drive, you want to use, click Add a network location and select it.

Recover Files Using PC Settings

Suppose you need to recover a file or directory stored on a local drive (not cloud storage), open PC Settings, and go to Update & Security > Backup. Then, click More options.

On the Backup options screen, click Restore files from a current backup under Related Settings.

Navigate to the file you want to restore and use the arrow buttons to select a version of the file to restore.

Then, click the green Restore button.

Recover Files Using File Explorer

Or you can use File Explorer to restore a previous version of a file.

Open up File Explorer and select the file you want to restore a version of. Then, click History on the Home tab.

Again, you can go back in time using the arrow buttons and select a different version of the files to restore.

Click the green restore button to restore the selected version.

Or, you can right-click a file and select Properties. Then, click the Previous Versions tab and select the version of the file you need. This is a good way to grab an individual document you made changes to but want to work with a previous draft instead.

Click Restore to restore the version of the file to the original location. If you want to restore the file to a different location, click the down arrow on the Restore button and select Restore To.

On the Restore to dialog box, navigate to the folder where you want to restore the selected version of the file and click Select Folder. If the file already exists in that location, you’ll be asked if you want to replace the file.

Clean Up File History

After a while, depending on the drive size and your configured settings, you might get a notification that you need to free up space on your File History drive.

If you get that message, go to PC Settings > Update & Security > Backup > More options > See advanced settings. Then, click Advanced settings on the left.

On the Advanced settings screen, click Clean up versions.

Select how far back you want to delete folders and files from the drop-down list. Then, click Clean up.

Backing Up Should Be Part of a Regular Routine

Make sure you back up regularly to avoid data loss.

File History backs up data files, but not the Windows system. But you can create a Windows 10 system image to do that.

You can also create a Windows 10 restore point to go back in time to a previous version of your system. This is useful if you’re going to install some software and want a way to go back to before the installation if something goes wrong. Creating a system restore point is also recommended before making changes to the registry. Of course, the registry can be backed up on its own, too.

If Windows 10 becomes slow and unresponsive at times, you can reset it. This resets Windows 10 to factory default but keeps all your data. After a reset, you must reinstall all your software, so be sure you have the time to do this before resetting Windows 10.

Does file History only backup changed files?

A full backup is to copy all files and folders from the original location to the destination location, while an incremental backup is to back up only the files added and modified since the last backup, which is the backup method we need.

Where will file history save files?

By default, File History will be set to back up back up important folders in your user account's home folder. This includes the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos folders. It also includes the Roaming folder where many programs store application data, your OneDrive folder, and other folders.

Is file history the same as backup?

And, even though Backup and Restore is available in Windows 10, File History is still the utility Microsoft recommends for backing up files. File History is significantly different from Backup and Restore in that its primary purpose is to allow you to back up personal files rather than creating a complete system image.

Does file History backup open files?

NOTE: File History ignores files that are in use when applications are open, such as Outlook . pst files if Outlook is open. To back up all files, shut down all programs, and use the “run now” option in File History to manually update the file history OR do a traditional drag-and-drop backup.