Today, File History can work hand-in-hand with OneDrive to create previous versions of files you replicate to the cloud. But these previous versions are device-specific and will be re-created on any PC for which you’ve enabled File History. By which I mean, if you have two PCs, both using File History to backup the same files in OneDrive, then you will have two different versions of File History backups, stored locally on two different PCs.
And that, I think, is the problem Microsoft is trying to solve by killing File History. For File History to work efficiently, to work correctly, it needs to be a feature of OneDrive, not Windows 10. And that functionality needs to be accessible from any PC or device, with previous versions not locked to an individual PC.
IanCP
2:56 am on Jun 5, 2017 (gmt 0)
Bill, File History never worked for me so I simply gave up on it. I ended up successfully using a Robocopy script in conjunction with a removable USB drive.
No matter how I set File History it always insisted on trying to backup several attached 4TB drives - with nowhere to possibly backup to.
My goal was always to backup critical files and folders - something I have since been mighty glad I did.
engine
8:02 am on Jun 5, 2017 (gmt 0)
I can see where a file history record would be valuable, and i've always used my own resources to achieve that, not Windows 10 or OneDrive.
bill
8:28 am on Jun 5, 2017 (gmt 0)
It was never reliable, but I use it as a backup backup. When File History worked, it was great. However I found it simply stopping sometimes. I would usually discover this when I went to recover some files. Not something I would rely upon, but great to have as an alternative.
keyplyr
8:39 am on Jun 5, 2017 (gmt 0)
Thanks for the heads-up bill.
In all the years I've used various Windows OS versions, I have never used any restore features, so I've not backed-up files via system.
Like engine & IanCP I've just used external drives to store file copies, usually once a week.
However, for the first time I have 2 Windows devices (a desktop & a Surface) both running Win10 Pro so most file versions are compatible with both devices.
OneDrive back-ups via File History has actually become something useful. But I guess after File History is discontinued, I'll just need to set a back-up schedule in OneDrive settings.
