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

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  1. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2020-06-24T12:57:17+00:00

    That is possible it is related to Storage Spaces & something on your PC may be different to mine.

    What’s the make & model of the PC?

    Are you drivers up to date?

    Have you tried restarting Explorer.exe? Ctrl, alt del to open task manager & choose restart.

    Are you using the same drive & the same partition to backup both PCs?

    Some other things to try which you may or may not have done:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

    I backup Documents, Music, Contacts, Favourites, Videos & Downloads.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-06-24T13:22:04+00:00

    So keep in mind this is occurring on two machines for me, both 2004.  I have a 3rd but if this is corrupting the data I do not want to risk any more irreversible harm.  Both machines are up to date with drivers, of course.  And both have gone through restarts recently so that takes care of any Explorer considerations.  As for the drives, both are using network shared folders and not local drives.  Perhaps this could be the issue?

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  3. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2020-06-24T13:31:28+00:00

    It may be the cause. Does the network drive have two File History folders - one for each PC?

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-06-24T13:38:53+00:00

    I was actually using two different NAS locations for each machine.

    I also just now tried to use a local disk on one of the machines and it too produces the same error after a clean install. 😞

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  5. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2020-06-24T13:43:25+00:00

    Unfortunately the only information I can find is either your posts or post pertaining to explorer.exe error with that message.

    It’s certainly puzzling.

    I would suspect this is a 2004 problem. Can you still roll back or is it too late?

    If too late you could try an in-place repair:

    I recommend an in-place upgrade repair.

    To repair Windows without losing any data then follow the instruction here:

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repai...

    This will also upgrade you to the latest version of Windows - currently 2004 - if you’re not already running this..

    In a nutshell you just download the media creation tool, run this & choose to upgrade now or if you are creating media on another PC you download the tool, run it & choose to create a USB or CD then insert the Windows 10 media (USB/DVD) in the problem PC & run setup from within Windows.

    Please note a repair install is not a reset, this is a last attempt at repairing a PC without a clean install. If this fails to repair the problem then usually a clean install is required.

    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). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

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