File History and restore to another PC

make a new PC like your lost or damaged PC

Here's how to make a new PC like your previous Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 PC.

1. Start your new PC for the first time.
2. During setup, sign in with the same Microsoft account that you used with your previous PC. You'll also be asked for a security code. For more info about verifying your identity, see About two-step verification.
3. When you're asked about how you want to set up your PC, choose the name of your previous PC. As your new PC continues to set up, you’ll get the settings that were backed up for your previous PC.
4. When your new PC is ready to use, plug in the eternal drive or connect to the network drive that you used for File History on your previous PC. The personal files you backed up with File Hisotry on your previous PC will be automatically restored to your new PC. This could take a while depending on how many versions of backed up files you have.

My situation is that I’ve managed to install a new drive and luckily I had an WD Aconis System Image Backup from 15th Dec 2015. I also last backed up to an external hard drive using File History on 8th Feb 2016.

I’ve been able to restore my laptop using the system image backup and then I thought I’d use File History to Restore my files from the latest daily backup which was on 8th Feb 2016.

Unfortunately when I try to use File History to restore files it only shows files up to 15th Dec 2015 even tho I can see the backed up files from 8th Feb 2016 on my external hard drive that I use with File History. File History was working fine and backing up files as it should to my external drive.

When I click the “Restore” option there is a gap from 15 December 2015 to 29 February 2016 where File History has not picked up previous File History Backups from the external drive, (29 February 2016 is the 1st back up since I restored the Laptop from the 15th December 2015 Image File).

Surly this is a glitch with File History that it only allows me to restore files from the 15th December 2015 and not the files from 8th February 2016 that were last backed up to an external hard drive via File History?

If this is how it is designed to work then it seems to render it useless for Restoring files/systems after a major failure.

The fact I used a system image backup means I have the exact same PC name etc. that I had before it crashed, so confused why it wont pick up the File History backups from the 8th February 2016.

Thanks for the suggestion tho.

Razor, if you read back in the thread (admittedly a long one!) you'll see that this is does not work in some cases. That's why the question was raised and why the thread is so long.

It might have been fixed in Windows 10 - I gave up using File History on Windows 8.1 because of all the problems and I haven't tried it since.

make a new PC like your lost or damaged PC

Here's how to make a new PC like your previous Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 PC.

1. Start your new PC for the first time.
2. During setup, sign in with the same Microsoft account that you used with your previous PC. You'll also be asked for a security code. For more info about verifying your identity, see About two-step verification.
3. When you're asked about how you want to set up your PC, choose the name of your previous PC. As your new PC continues to set up, you’ll get the settings that were backed up for your previous PC.
4. When your new PC is ready to use, plug in the eternal drive or connect to the network drive that you used for File History on your previous PC. The personal files you backed up with File Hisotry on your previous PC will be automatically restored to your new PC. This could take a while depending on how many versions of backed up files you have.

I was able to complete this by modifying the config.xml files.  Here are the steps that I completed to go from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 as a clean install and recover files through file history when the computer did not recognize a previous history.

Add external drive to computer and try attempts to have it recognize the previous backup.  If this fails, then try the steps below.

1. Turn on file history to the same drive.  Let it backup up files, then stop it and turn it off.
2. Browse the drive through windows explorer and you will find a path:
   1. ..\FileHistory{username}{ComputerName_Old}\
      1. Nested in that folder is a ‘Configuration’ folder  - copy and paste there to save a backup
   2. ..\FileHistory{username}{ComputerName_New}\
      1. Nested in that folder is a ‘Configuration’ folder  - copy and paste there to save a backup
3. In these configuration folders there should be 2 xml files (maybe 1 or maybe more).
   1. Config1.xml
   2. Config2.xml
4. Need to copy values from the configuration files in the Old to the New.  Make sure that you copy from old_1 to new_1 and old_2 to new_2.
   1. PCName
   2. UserID
   3. Change the PC Name in the Configuration path for
      1. TargetConfigPath1
      2. TargetConfigPath2
      3. TargetCatalogPath1
      4. TargetCatalogPath2

After all of these steps have been completed, then when you go back to turn on file history, there will be a box to check to add a previous history.  This will then allow you to restore items from the file history.

I too have the issue of having a Hard drive die on me and then coming to use File History to back up the lost files, only to find File History can't find the latest files on my external device.

regarding the advice above from K Rock:-

1. Browse the drive through windows explorer and you will find a path:
   1. ..\FileHistory{username}{ComputerName_Old}\
      1. Nested in that folder is a ‘Configuration’ folder  - copy and paste there to save a backup
   2. ..\FileHistory{username}{ComputerName_New}\
      1. Nested in that folder is a ‘Configuration’ folder  - copy and paste there to save a backup
   where it says "- copy and paste there to save a backup", what is it that you are supposed to be copy and pasting into the ‘Configuration’ folder?