File History: Element Not Found Error on Windows 10 May 2004

Anonymous
2020-06-22T19:28:01+00:00

Using Windows 10 May 2004 edition with a brand new install of File History on two different machines now, I have managed to run into the following issue.

Selecting Clean up versions, then "Clean up":

I get the following dialog:

Again, this is on two different machines, with a clean install.

Note that I am using a simple folder with a 4KB file within it, although I first saw this on a fully-configured install with about 1.5TB worth of data within it.  This led me to diagnosing the issue and ultimately trying it on these two separate machines with a clean install.

Is this a known issue for 2004?

Thank you for any assistance/context/insight you can provide!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

55 answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2020-08-28T18:36:47+00:00

    I would report it to Microsoft via the Feedback app - Windows key + F key.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2020-08-28T17:35:26+00:00

    I was finally able to fix that machine using another possible solution:

    1. Stop using drive (this deletes/clears out the AppData/FileHistory folder)
    2. Repair
    3. Configure a clean File History instance.  Meaning point it to the drive/location and clear out any default folders that were set.  You should have an empty list and can perform "Clean up" with the expected dialogs and not the "Element Not Found" exceptions.
    4. Revert the Repair install into your previous install.

    Doing the above I was able to get my machine to a working state where I could boot and File History was working again.

    Great news. :-)

    I have the same issue on 2004. The computer was just reimaged appx 45 days ago so I am not going to do it again. My guess is that MS has once again broken something and they are going to be slow to fix. My workaround to clean up was to turn the service off, delete 45 days worth of file history and then turn it back on. The problem "element not found" still exists, however I have room on the drive again for fresh file history.  Sad thing is that I turned  this feature on for about 15  - 20 people I support and I can see a crisis coming there. Not going to reimage every computer on a network to see if it helps. I did run the commands suggested earlier in this thread and got the exact same results. No benefit.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2020-06-25T16:37:26+00:00

    I was finally able to fix that machine using another possible solution:

    1. Stop using drive (this deletes/clears out the AppData/FileHistory folder)
    2. Repair
    3. Configure a clean File History instance.  Meaning point it to the drive/location and clear out any default folders that were set.  You should have an empty list and can perform "Clean up" with the expected dialogs and not the "Element Not Found" exceptions.
    4. Revert the Repair install into your previous install.

    Doing the above I was able to get my machine to a working state where I could boot and File History was working again.

    Great news. :-)

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2020-06-25T15:52:27+00:00

    I was finally able to fix that machine using another possible solution:

    1. Stop using drive (this deletes/clears out the AppData/FileHistory folder)
    2. Repair
    3. Configure a clean File History instance.  Meaning point it to the drive/location and clear out any default folders that were set.  You should have an empty list and can perform "Clean up" with the expected dialogs and not the "Element Not Found" exceptions.
    4. Revert the Repair install into your previous install.

    Doing the above I was able to get my machine to a working state where I could boot and File History was working again.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2020-06-25T12:36:29+00:00

    I should update to say that a simple repair did not work.  I had to disconnect the drive and then repair.  So I effectively repaired twice (which might have led to the other issue I am now facing).  There might be other unknown considerations at play, but that's what worked for me.

    Glad to hear the repair did work, I mentioned that you may need to remove any drives - which included the file history drive. I’ve found doing this gives the best install of a new version of Windows.

    Sorry to hear it caused further problems though.

    I see my fellow IA Greg is ansering you on your other question. I’ll take a look though.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments