Back Up Data Safely with File History

YOU’LL NEED THIS

EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

Or you can use a network drive, in which case you also need an Internet connection.

WE’VE ALL GOT THAT NAGGING VOICE

in our minds telling us to back up our important data. But just like using more secure passwords to keep our accounts safe, it’s something that all too often is put off for a rainy day. Luckily, backing up your files in Windows 10 is much easier than you’d think. Perhaps aware of how much passive resistance there is to backing up, Microsoft has made the whole process simple and straightforward. Once you know how to do it, there’s no excuse not to protect your files from disaster.

We’ll take you through the process of creating a local backup with Windows 10’s built-in File History feature, which enables you to quickly restore backed-up data, too. We also recommend you consider an online backup service in addition to any local backups you make. That way, if something drastic were to happen (fire, flood, tornado, or act of God), you’ve still got your files safely secured off-site. With File History, you can back up selected files to your chosen drive, restore from it, or clear out older backups if you need to free up space. And if you want to restore backups created on older versions of Windows, we’ve got more information about that in the boxout opposite.

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SET UP FILE HISTORY

First, you need an external storage drive or network drive to serve as your backup location. We suggest you use a large, empty drive to give yourself plenty of space for backups. If you want Windows 10 to back up your files automatically, you need your PC to be connected to this drive at all times.

Now open the Windows 10 Start menu and click the cog icon above the “Power” button; this opens the Settings app. Click “Update & Security,” then click “Backup” on the left.

Under the “Back up using File History” header, click “Add a drive” [ Image A]. Windows searches for available drives that can be configured as backup locations. Once it’s finished scanning, select your chosen drive. By default, Windows automatically backs up your files to this drive.

If you want more control, click “More options.” This takes you to a screen of settings, enabling you to back up exactly what you want, when you want. If you turned off the option to have Windows automatically back up your files—or you want to back up before the scheduled time— click “Back up now” to get started immediately [ Image B].

To change the backup schedule, click the dropdown menu beneath “Back up my files.” This is set to

every hour by default, but you can choose options from every 10 minutes to once per day. Below this option, you can tell Windows how long to keep each backup. The default is forever, but you can pick a minimum of one month if you like, or “until space is needed” for a more dynamic option [ Image C].

File History automatically selects key folders from within your My Documents folder, including Pictures, Downloads, Music, and more. It also includes files from your C:/Users home folder. If you have multiple drives connected, it includes these folders on each drive they appear on.

To remove a folder, click it, then click “Remove.” Click “Add a folder” in the “Back up these folders” section to put additional folders on the backup list. And if there’s a folder you want to exclude, choose “Add a folder” beneath “Exclude these folders.”

If you’ve run out of space on your backup drive (or just want to start backing up to a different drive), click “Stop using drive” at the bottom of the window. This doesn’t delete any of your current backups, so they’re still safe. Now hook up the new drive to your PC and repeat the process of adding it to File History.

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RECOVER ITEMS

To recover from a backup, open the Settings app and navigate to the “Backup” section. Click “More options,” then click “Restore files from a current backup.” This opens a new window that lists all available backups [ Image D]. You can move between backups by clicking the arrow buttons.

Once you’ve chosen an appropriate backup, you can browse through the files and folders it contains. Select one or more items to restore, then click the green button at the bottom of the window. If the file or folder has the same name as an item in its targeted location, Windows warns you of the file conflict. You can opt to replace the newer item with the backed-up version, skip the file you’re trying to restore, or keep both.

You can also restore older versions of files from within Windows Explorer. Find the file in question, then right-click it, and select “Restore previous versions.” If you’ve previously backed up the file using File History, its older versions are displayed in the resulting window. Just click the version you want to bring back, then click “Restore.” If you’d rather restore it but save it in a different location from the current file, click the down arrow next to “Restore,” then click “Restore To.”

On the other hand, you can navigate to a folder (or a file within that folder) that has been previously backed up, click the “Home” button in Windows Explorer’s menu bar, then click “History” in the ribbon that appears. This brings up the File History window for the selected file or folder, and you can then restore the entire folder or files within it as normal.

3

FREE UP SPACE BY DELETING OLDER BACKUPS

At the bottom of File History’s “More options” menu, click “See advanced settings.” This opens a Control Panel window for File History. On the left, click “Advanced settings.” Underneath the drop-down menu displaying how long backups are kept for, click “Clean up versions.”

By default, this deletes backups from more than one year ago. If you really want to be thorough, you can tell Windows to clear out everything except the most recent backup [ Image E]. At the other end of the scale, you can choose to only delete backups from more than two years ago. No matter what you choose, Windows always keeps the most recent backup of a file or folder.

If you backed up a file or folder then subsequently deleted it from your computer (so it only exists in your backups), clearing out your backups could mean it’s permanently deleted. Make sure you’re certain you won’t lose anything important before you go down this route.

The amount of space freed up in this process depends on the size and number of backups created by File History, but you could find the savings are significant. Still, we recommend holding on to your backups and using a separate backup drive if you run out of space if possible.

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WINDOWS 10 Most of the options you need are in the Settings app.

IF LEFT UNCHECKED,

Windows 10 notifications can become pretty bothersome. No one likes to be interrupted when inspiration strikes, yet with Windows 10’s default settings, you could find yourself facing a barrage of buzzes and blips demanding your on-screen attention.

Swing too far in the opposite direction, however, and you could miss out on vital reminders and updates. You don’t want to totally disable notifications if you’re expecting an important email, and things could quickly head south if blocking all notifications means you don’t get buzzed that your processor is overheating.

That’s why it’s important to strike the right balance, and to do that you need to know how to adjust Windows 10’s notification settings to your liking. That’s what we’ll show you in this tutorial, and by the end of it, you’ll have the tools to tweak and adjust your PC’s alerts to perfection.

Most of Windows 10’s notifications options are located in the Settings app. To open it, click the “Start” menu, then click the cog icon just above the “Power” button. Alternately, click on the Windows 10 search bar, type “Settings” and click the first result. That’s where we’re going to kick things off.

1

SET GLOBAL RULES FOR NOTIFICATIONS

Windows 10 allows you to customize your notifications in both broad and fine strokes, enabling or disabling everything at once, or on the individual app level. That makes it well suited to those who just want quick changes and those who want more control alike. To get started, open the Settings app, click “System,” then choose “Notifications & actions” on the left.

>> Under the “Notifications” header, there are several toggles that enable you to change various settings [ Image A]. The first two let you choose whether you see notifications on the lock screen before you log in. These can include messages telling you that you need to update Windows, or alerts that you’ve missed a Skype call, for example. If you want your lock screen to remain clean and uncluttered, you can disable these, although you might find it useful to keep them around so you don’t miss anything.

>> Below that are two settings that relate to the Windows experience. The first lets Windows show you what’s new after you’ve updated the operating system; it also does this “occasionally” when you sign in. The second offers “tips, tricks, and suggestions” while you go about using Windows. If you know your way around Windows 10, you may not find these particularly useful, so you should be safe to turn them off if you want to cut down on notifications.

>> The final option in the “Notifications” section lets you allow or block notifications from all installed apps in one fell swoop. Turn off this setting and you won’t see any notifications, regardless of whether they originate from a built-in Windows app or a third-party one. You’ll notice that if you turn off notifications from apps, alerts are also automatically blocked from the lock screen. If you want to keep notifications from some apps but not from others, you can control that below.

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MANAGE INDIVIDUAL APPS

Windows 10 gives you fine-grained control over individual app notifications. First, make sure that you are not blocking alerts from “apps and other senders,” then scroll to the “Get notifications from these apps” section [ Image B].

>> Here, you’ll see every app you have installed that can send you notifications, as well as a toggle next to its name, enabling you to block all notifications from that particular app. If you just want a simple level of control, you can block and allow alerts with a quick click.

>> You can get a lot more control, however, if you click on an app’s name [ Image C]. As well as being able to switch off notifications here, you can choose what type