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

Anonymous

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!

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55 answers

Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2020-06-23T20:17:13+00:00

Running File History again after cleaning just gives a message stating

'We couldn't find any versions of your files that were that old' this is using the delete all but the latest one. I would expect that as FH has been cleaned.

I upgraded from 1909 to 2004 via the Media creation tool.
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Anonymous

2020-06-23T20:37:04+00:00

I'm envious! Thank you for your assistance, in any case. Maybe someone else will be able to reproduce this and we can find some further clues on what is happening here.
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Anonymous

2020-06-24T04:55:31+00:00

Hi Time Lady... thinking about this a little more. When you say you reset File History, what do you mean exactly? Did you delete all files from the AppData/Microsoft/Windows/FileHistory folder?

When I setup File History, it seems to have its own mind on what it wants to backup, which includes OneDrive. Data in OneDrive is already backed up in OneDrive so I do not want to back it up again. When I reset/install, what I do is start it and then immediately stop it. I have done this in previous versions, and is suggested on this thread:

https://superuser.com/questions/1231658/win10-how-to-reset-file-history-while-keeping-configuration

But I am curious if there is another approach to take here, and is why I ask. I'm wondering if this start/stop is causing some issue in 2004 that wasn't there before.
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Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2020-06-24T10:46:04+00:00

You’ve probably already done this:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/54999-reset...

I would choose to ‘stop using this drive & delete the file history folder before doing this.

Was file history working well immediately after installing 2004? If yes then there’s corruption either with file history or Windows.

If it wasn’t working after upgrading, did it work fine before 2004? If so then 2004 broke File History.

Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products).

Please do not download any repair tool which may be offered by this site other than the ones I mention/recommend.

Thoroughly research any product which is mentioned here before you decide to download and install it.
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Anonymous

2020-06-24T12:41:30+00:00
I was not familiar with that page, thank you for providing it. I did take a look into the .bat file and it seems to delete the AppData../FileHistory directory. If I understand correctly, this doesn't attend to the matter of FileHistory insisting on backing up a dozen predetermined directories upon its first run. For reference, these are the required exclusions that are ultimately needed to have a "clean" File History installation:
```
&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Saved Games&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Links&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Downloads&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Desktop&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Favorites&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Contacts&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\3D Objects&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Searches&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\OneDrive&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Documents&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Videos&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;

&lt;FolderExclude Hidden="true"&gt;C:\Users\user\Music&lt;/FolderExclude&gt;
```
In order to get to this state, however, one is required to start and then immediately stop File History, which makes me suspect there is something there in 2004 that gets cranky when doing so.

As for your questions, I can confirm that using the "Clean up" feature prior to 2004 worked like a charm. I have used it at least 3 times in the past year with what must be versions 1903 and 1909. So, it was a surprise to see this "Element not found" error upon trying it for the first time in 2004. It was an even further surprise to see it persist upon clearing and retrying from a clean copy/version of FileHistory, which led me to my posts out on the interwebs.

As a final thought here, upon re-reading your provided link, it's interesting to note that File History makes use of a NTFS feature called change journal. You have to wonder (and hope) if this might be related to the Storage Spaces bug found in 2004 which also deals with the file system. Hopefully fixing that will address this, too. But, who knows. 🤷‍♂️
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