A backup of the complete system can come in handy in Windows 10, in various events. It could be that you are migrating from Windows 8.1/8/7 to Windows 10 and want a backup of your previous files. Now, what if you find that Windows 10 backup is not working. Would you let go of your crucial data, all your essential files and folders? You certainly should not. While you would be inclined to take assistance from an IT administrator (which is a wise choice), you can take things in your hand, should there be an urgency and no such professional is available.
Methods To Deal Windows 10 Backup Not Working Issue
1. Enable The Volume Shadow Copy Option
So, you have decided to move from Windows 7 to Windows 10 but only later to find that backup and restore the functionality of Windows 7 is not working in Windows 10. What would you do?
- Click on the search bar next to Windows icon and type service.msc
- Locate the Volume Shadow Copy and right-click on it and select properties
- Click on dependency and see if dependency services are running
2. Enable Windows Search And File History
Much before we get into the steps of how you can enable File History, let’s first quickly understand what this feature is all about.
From Windows 8/8.1 and now Windows 10, backup and restore is replaced by an option called File History. This application in Windows makes sure that all your files are continuously backed up on your desktop, in your favourite folders, libraries and even in your Contacts folders. Yet, there might be times when you might encounter Windows 10 File Backup option not working or the file history not backing up folders and files. This is when you can use the file history option –
- Quite like above type service.msc in the search bar next to the Windows key
- Click on Services
- Find File History Service and Windows Search and double click on them
- Now, change the Startup type to Automatic
3. Enable And Disable System Protection
If you have tried a lot and still Windows 10 backup is not working or has failed. You can try enabling and disabling system protection. To do this, follow the steps mentioned below –
- First, open the Control Panel. You can reach it by pressing Windows + R keys and typing control panel and pressing enter
- Go to System
- Choose System protection
- Select a drive and click on Configure option
- Click on Disable system protection
4. Refresh File History by turning It Off And then turning it on again
If your Windows 10 backup is not backing up files because there are issues with file history, here is how this can be resolved. First, follow the path mentioned below to turn off the File History –
Control Panel> Type File History in the search bar> Click Turn off button > Reset File History.
After you have turned the File History off, please turn it on again. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, here are some further steps –
- In File History, click on Advanced Settings
- Check Event logs for any errors
- Additionally set the Keep saved versions to Forever
5. Use A Backup Software
Despite using all the tricks in the hat, if you still find that the backup is not working in Windows 10, you can take help of backup software. For instance, Systweak Right backup is one of the best software that can help you take a backup of all your essential files and folders. You can take the backup of your documents, audio and video files and apps and the whole system. The software exhibits the following features –
Also Read: How To Recover Permanently Deleted Files
- Has an easy interface
- Lists out all the files according to the priority which means the amount of data that they contain
- You can even choose to restore the files that you have previously backed to your desired location
- The software comes with customizable settings. In that, you can schedule backup, exclude files that you don’t wish to backup, change proxy settings and make general modifications.
To Backup files using Right Backup:
- Select the files that you wish to backup
- Click on Start Backup
- Click on the Restore tab
- You can even search for a specific file that you wish to restore
- You can even schedule backup on your desired date or interval
To Conclude
We truly understand how hard it can be when you are trying to take a backup of your precious data and are faced by backup not working in Windows 10 issue. With the hope that the above methods will help you resolve the issue, we bring the blog to an end. Have more such troubleshooting queries, shoot them to us in the comments section below. For more such content, keep reading We The Geek. Follow us on social media – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.