How to Fix the "File History Doesn't Recognize This Drive" Error in Windows
Overview of the Error
Windows includes a backup feature called "File History." However, after setting it up, you might encounter an error dialog stating, "This drive is not recognized by File History."
This article introduces methods to resolve this error.
Here are three suggested approaches:
- Reconnect the drive physically.
- Change the "Startup Type" of the File History Service and restart it.
- Delete the configuration files of the File History Service and reconnect the drive.
Method 1: Reconnect the Drive Physically
This is a basic and straightforward troubleshooting step.
If your backup destination is an external HDD or SD card, disconnect it physically and reconnect it.
If you’re using a NAS and have assigned a network drive, detach the drive from your computer and reassign it.
If this feels like too much effort, you can skip this step and proceed directly to Methods 2 or 3.
Method 2: Change the "Startup Type" of the File History Service and Restart It
The next step involves locating the "File History Service" in Windows' list of services and changing its startup type before restarting the system.
First, press Windows Key + S to open the search dialog, and type services.msc, then press Enter.
Type "services.msc" in the Windows search box to open the list of services.
Then, the list of Windows services will appear.
If it doesn’t, press Windows Key + S, type Run, open the Run dialog, and enter services.msc.
From the list, find File History Service and double-click it to opne the properties dialog. Then, set the "Startup type" to Automatic and click OK.
If Service status is Stopped, click Start.
By default, the Startup type is likely set to Automatic (Delayed Start).
This option delays the service's startup slightly after Windows boots, helping to reduce the system's load during startup.
From a performance perspective, Automatic (Delayed Start) is preferable during Windows startup. Therefore, after temporarily changing it to Automatic to resolve the issue, you might want to switch it back to Automatic (Delayed Start) and monitor if the problem persists.
Find File History in the Windows Services list and open its properties dialog
Restart your computer.
After restarting, open the "File History" menu in Control Panel and check if the error persists. If the error still appears, try selecting the desired drive again.
Method 3: Delete the Configuration Files of the File History Service and Reconnect the Drive
The final method involves deleting the configuration files for the "File History Service" and reconfiguring the settings.
The configuration files are stored in the following directory:
\Users{UserName}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory\Configuration
Delete the entire Configuration folder.
After deletion, open "File History" in the Control Panel.
You’ll find that the previously assigned backup destination is either unassigned or replaced by a different drive, so use the "Select drive" option to choose your desired drive again and attempt to reconnect.
If there are issues connecting to a network drive, this method may help resolve them.
Additional Notes
After specifying the backup destination drive and having run this feature, Windows File History automatically creates a directory for backups. To avoid confusion later, instead of assigning the root directory of the drive, create a dedicated folder such as WindowsFileHistory and specify it as the destination. This will help you undesrtand what the directores are when you see these directories in the future.
