Have you encountered a message saying "File History doesn't recognise this drive" when using it to back up files to an external drive in Windows 11, 10, 8? Here are how to solve it.
“I've been using File History on my Win10 laptop for a couple of years with no problems, saving to an external drive. For the last couple of weeks, when I go to run it, I get the message: "File History doesn't recognize this drive." How can I fix this?”
– JohnCosgrove
When trying to backup your files to another hard drive in case the originals are lost, you may find out that File History doesn’t recognize this drive. Sometimes, the error message will be like the system cannot find the file specified. The File History still fails when you try to reconnect it or choose another disk.
To simply fix File History is not working, you can use the free and robust backup software AOMEI Backupper Standard to backup your files and folders.
Compared with File History, AOMEI Backupper has many pros:
Superior Performance: AOMEI Backupper is designed to operate faster than File History, ensuring a smooth and time-efficient backup process.
Advanced Backup Features:
Versatile Additional Features:
All in all, AOMEI Backupper is an all-in-one tool that caters to diverse backup needs, making it a reliable choice for personal and professional use.
1. Free download, install, and launch this freeware.
Best free Windows backup software to prevent PC data loss.
2. Under the Backup tab, choose File Backup.
3. Click Add File or Add Folder to specify files or folders in the backup, In the select folder window, you can also set a filter to exclude files from the backup (premium feature).
4. Specify a location path to receive the file image backup. It supports internal/external drives, USB flash drives, network share, NAS, cloud, etc.
5. Finally, you can click Schedule Backup to set a scheduled automatic backup if needed. For more options, click the Options button. Then click Start Backup to start the backup.
For troubleshooting, you can try the following solutions to manually fix the problem of File History doesn't recognize this drive.
1. Search for "Services" and open it. Or you can press Win + R, type" services.msc" in the box and press Enter to open it.
2. Locate the "File History Service". Start the service and set the Start type to "Automatic".
1. Show hidden files and folders in File Explorer Options, and also uncheck the option "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)".
2. Delete the folder in the following path:
3. Go to File History to connect the drive again, and make sure File History is turned on.
The reason behind the File History drive not being recognized or disconnected may be:
File History Service Not Triggered Automatically: The File History Service might fail to start automatically, preventing the system from recognizing the drive.
Accidental Deactivation of File History: You may have unintentionally turned off File History, disrupting its functionality and causing the drive to be disconnected.
Drive Configuration Changes: After selecting a drive to save copies of your files, any subsequent modifications to the drive (e.g., formatting, renaming, or unmounting) can lead to disconnection or unrecognizability.
But no matter what the reason is that your File History cannot recognize the drive, you can back up your files and data by using the best File History alternative tool- AOMEI Backupper, don’t miss it!
After the backup completes, you can restore partial files or the entire content of the backup at any time. After fixing the problem that file history doesn't recognize this drive, you may also be interested in File Sync, which is also one of the features of AOMEI Backupper. Besides that, AOMEI Backupper also allows you to create a system image backup, make bootable media, and hard drive clone to SSD.