Windows 10 Backup Not Working: 4 Fixes & Free Alternative

Overview of Windows 10 backup not working

Windows 10 comes with built-in backup features: File History and Backup and Restore Windows 7. However, You may find Windows 10 backup not working after upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8, or you get the error that File History does not recognize this drive or File History no usable drives found.

Basically speaking, Windows 10 backup not working shows as two situations: Windows 10 File History backup not working and Backup and Restore Windows 7 not working in Windows 10.

Many reasons may cause this issue. For example, the Startup Type cannot be triggered automatically, the external hard drive has not been formatted, and the corrupted files may cause this error too, etc. Read on to learn how to fix Windows backup not working accordingly.

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If you still find Windows 10 backup does not work after using these methods, go straight to an alternative tool.

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Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7

Case 1. Windows 10 File History backup not working

Method 1. Manually start the service

One of the possible reasons is that the Startup Type cannot be triggered automatically. You can manually start the service and try again.

1. Type “services.msc” in the Run box or search “services” from the Start menu in Windows 10 to open Windows Services Manager.

2. Locate the File History Service. Right-click it and select Properties. Start the service and set the Start Type to Automatic (Delayed Start).

Method 2. Format the drive

If you are trying to create system backup on an external hard drive, you might have to format it beforehand. To format your external hard drive, do the following:

1. Open This PC and locate your external hard drive.

2. Right-click it and choose Format. When the Format window opens, check Quick Format option and click Start button.

Notes: 

• This operation will erase all your data. If you do not want data loss, make sure to move any files from it to a safe location. You can backup the disk in advance or format the drive without data loss using a third party tool.
• The method to format the drive can be also applied to Backup and Restore (Windows 7) not working in Windows 10.

Case 2. Backup and Restore Windows 7 not working in Windows 10

Method 1. Enable Volume Shadow Copy

1. Click on the search bar and search for "services" to open Windows Services Manager.

2. When it opens, find Volume Shadow Copy, right-click on it and select Properties. Then, click the Dependencies tab and ensure the dependency services are running.

Method 2. Use chkdsk command

In some cases, system backup can fail if your hard drive contains any corrupted files. In order to check and repair the corrupted files, you need to use chkdsk command. To check your hard drive, do the following:

1. Press Windows Key + X and choose Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.

2. When Command Prompt opens, you need to type chkdsk /r X: (X means the letter that represents your hard drive partition) and press Enter to run it. For example, if you want to check your D drive, just type “chkdsk /r D:”.

Best free alternative to Windows 10 backup tools

Windows 10 backup still not working? It’s time to use the best free backup software AOMEI Backupper Standard to backup your system and files and folders.

Compared with Windows built-in backup tools, AOMEI Backupper offers you more options. With its stable performance and powerful support, you do not have the backup not working issue.

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Easy Windows Backup Software

• You can backup system, partition, hard drive, files and folders with a few clicks.

• It supports many storage devices like external hard drive, internal hard drive, NAS, and cloud drive.

• You can easily schedule an automatic backup with an appropriate frequency.

• By default, the software runs incremental backup after the first full backup, thus saving backup time and space for you.

Download Freeware
Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7

100% Secure

To backup Windows 10 with AOMEI Backupper, you can create a disk backup that contains your system partition and data partition. It will protect both system and data. You can follow the steps below.

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Backupper. At the main interface, click Backup, then Disk Backup.

Step 2. Choose the disk you need to backup by clicking Add Disk. 

Step 3. And then choose the destination location to store the backup.

Step 4. There are Options, Schedule Backup, and Backup Scheme to help you customize your backup. After you have done all the settings, click Start Backup.

👉 Options: comment on the backup task, compress or split a backup image, etc.

👉 Schedule Backup: set the backup task to run daily, weekly, or monthly.

👉 Backup Scheme: choose full/incremental/differential backup method or set backup retention policy to automatically delete old backups. Differential backup and auto backup cleanup are available in higher versions.

★ Advanced way to backup your computer OS

If you want one key system backup & restore solution for your PC, you can turn to AOMEI OneKey Recovery. It enables you to make a factory recovery partition to help recover a corrupted computer.

Further reading: Common Windows backup error codes

1. Error Code 0x80070005

Cause: Access Denied

Solution: This error typically occurs due to permission issues. Ensure you have administrative rights and check that the backup destination is accessible and not write-protected.

2. Error Code 0x80070057

Cause: The parameter is incorrect

Solution: This error may appear if the backup destination is full, or there’s a configuration issue with the backup settings. Ensure there's enough space on the backup drive and try adjusting the backup settings.

3. Error Code 0x80070002

Cause: File not found

Solution: This often happens if Windows can't locate the files required for the backup. Ensure that the files or folders you want to back up are accessible and not deleted or corrupted.

4. Error Code 0x81000037

Cause: Backup stopped due to a corrupted or unavailable system image

Solution: Try running the Windows Backup Troubleshooter, or use the built-in system restore or repair tools to fix the image corruption.

5. Error Code 0x80042308

Cause: VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) error

Solution: This error is related to issues with VSS. Running the "vssadmin" command or restarting the Volume Shadow Copy Service might resolve this issue.

Conclusion

To make a summary, if you have problems with your Windows backup tools, you can fix them accordingly or use a perfect alternative software - AOMEI Backupper. With this software, you will not worry about Windows 10 backup not working issue anymore.

With the image backup created by this tool, you can restore corrupted system and missing files without efforts. Even when you have problems with current hardware, you can restore the backup image to dissimilar hardware. But this feature is only available in Pro edition. You can upgrade to it if needed.

If you want to protect unlimited computers within your company, you can pick AOMEI Backupper Technician. With the inbuilt AOMEI Image Deploy tool, you are also allowed to deploy/restore system image file on a server-side computer to multiple client-side computers over network.