How to Restore Previous Versions of Files in Windows 10.
In previous versions of Windows, saving a file was a disaster (at least when it was unintentional). Apart from System Restore, Windows did not have built-in options to roll back accidental file changes. The original version of the file was lost if you were unable to save it with a new file name.
Realizing that this is a problem, Microsoft introduced File History, a feature that allows you to roll back changes to files, but there are alternatives if you prefer to use a third-party solution. Here’s what you need to do to restore previous versions of files in Windows 10.
Restore previous versions of files using File History
If you want to revert changes to a file and restore a previous version, the best way to do so is to use Windows native file versioning features. First you need to enable file history, which usually uses an external drive (or in some cases a network drivesyncing your files to the cloud
- You can check if there is file history. included in the Windows settings menu. Right-click the start menu and select the Settings option to start.
- From the Windows Settings menu, select Update & Security Backup. Under the File History Backup option, the drive you are currently using to back up your file history will be listed. If it is not listed, you need to enable file history by selecting the Add Disk option.
- A list of available external drives will appear in the drop-down menu. Select one of them to enable file history. A slider will appear in the Backup menu to enable or disable File History as soon as you do so. You can choose which folders it monitors by selecting “More options” under the slider.
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- In the Advanced Options menu, you can add or remove folders to track your file history by selecting the Add Folder option under the Back up these folders category.
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- You can also change the frequency of file backups and the frequency of keeping backups. To change these settings, change them using the Back up files and Save my backups drop-down menus.
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- After enabling file history and tracking the correct folders, you can restore previous versions of files using Windows Explorer. This will only work for files that you edit after enabling file history. To do this, open File Explorer and locate the file or folder containing the file you want to recover. Right-click the file or folder and select the Restore Previous Versions option.
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- On the Previous Versions tab of the Properties window, you will see a list of previous versions of your file or folder. To view a file or folder, select the version you want to restore from the list, then click the Open button below. If you want to restore it, select “Restore”.
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- If you select “Restore”, the previously saved files will overwrite the new files. To keep both copies, first click the down arrow next to the Restore button and then select Restore To.
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- Select a new folder to keep previous versions of your files, then select the Select Folder option.
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Windows Explorer will open to show you the recovered files, regardless of whether you chose to overwrite new copies or save them elsewhere. This option, as we already mentioned, only works if you had file history enabled before you made changes to the files.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many options available to help you restore previous versions in Windows 10 if you don’t already have a backup system. However, you may have better luck if you delete the file, as Microsoft now offers a Windows file recovery tool to help you recover your lost files.
Using third-party file release software
Windows File History is a great option for file versioning, but it relies on using an external drive for backups, and backups are limited to every 15 minutes. While it does support network drives, supporting this seems more problematic depending on how your network is configured.
With this in mind, you might prefer to use third-party file version control software. While there are paid options, one of the simplest file versioning apps for Windows is AutoVer, a free app that lets you regularly back up your files to external drives, network storage devices, and external FTP servers.
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- First, download and install AutoVer on your Windows PC. After installing the software, you can start monitoring specific folders by selecting the Add New Watcher icon in the AutoVer client.
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- You will need to specify the folder you want to monitor and where to save the backup files. Enter a name for the monitor rule in the Name field. In the Watch Folder section, specify the location of the folder or drive that you want to monitor. Finally, specify the location to save the backups in the “Archive to” field. You can choose to use local backup storage, such as an external drive, or switch to FTP file backup by choosing one of the backup type options.
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- On the Versioning tab, you can choose how long you want to keep the backup files. If you plan to back up to a remote server, you can set FTP connection parameters on the FTP tab. If you are satisfied with the changes, click OK to save the changes.
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- AutoVer will automatically back up any changes to your files almost immediately after the changes are made. However, to immediately run the observer rule and start a new backup, click the Synchronize Selected Observer (Backup Now!) Button.
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- If you want to view the backup files, you can do so by right-clicking the watcher rule and selecting the “Explore backups” option. This will open AutoVer File Explorer allowing you to view the files that have been saved. If you want to restore an earlier version of a file, you can select one of its versions by selecting the outdated version in the right column and then clicking the Restore File button.
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While AutoVer may look a little outdated, it works incredibly well for regularly backing up your files and gives you a third-party option for file versioning in Windows 10. File backups are done almost immediately, allowing you to quickly restore changes to files that may have changed. by mistake.
While cloud storage like Google Drive is alternatives, you’re limited by how often you can store versions of a file. This makes unlimited file versioning like AutoVer an excellent long term backup solution.
Keep Windows 10 files safe
Your computer won’t last forever, so it’s important to always keep your Windows backup system in mind. Recovering previous versions of files in Windows 10 will be much easier if you start using external cloud storage like Google Backup and Sync to store copies of your files
However, if you’re only concerned with rolling back small changes, Windows’ built-in file history should work fine, but you can save file versions more regularly using tools like AutoVer. If you deleted files by mistake, you can restore them using third-party software like Shadow Explorer
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