How to Enable or Disable File History in Windows 11 Windows File History was the default Windows 10 backup system, but it can still be accessed in Windows 11. This is a basic tool that lets you store files in your User Libraries and access old files. In this video, we outline the steps for how to enable or disable File History in Windows 11, as well as some common issues you might encounter while doing so. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne’s IT Video Hub for more tech content like this. How to Enable and Disable File History in Windows 11 First, connect an external hard drive or network to store the File History data. Open Windows Settings App via the Start menu. Use the Find a setting search box to search for File History. Click Restore your files with File History, then select Configure File History settings. Next, choose the drive or network location where File History will be saved and select Turn On. To disable File History, follow the same steps and click Turn Off instead. With File History enabled, you can select Exclude folders to specify directories you do not want saved. In addition, you can open Advanced Settings to set a schedule for conducting backups as well as limits on how long these should be kept for. Common Issues When Disabling File History Configuring File History is user-friendly, but a few common issues can arise. First, disconnecting the backup drive leads to local caching, potentially consuming significant disk space, especially on devices not regularly connected to the backup location. You can set your local hard drive as your File History drive, which allows previous file versions to be easily accessed. However, doing so provides no protection if your device is lost, stolen, or damaged. If you find your backup drives are filling up too quickly, you can tweak the frequency and retention periods for previous versions of files. This can reduce the amount of space required for backups. You can also manually use the “Clean up versions” option to purge old backups. If you cannot access File History at all, it may be disabled in Group Policy. This can only be changed by administrators in an enterprise Windows Domain, but it may be configured on a Windows 11 Pro PC that isn't part of a domain. Check out our blog post for more details. File History is a legacy backup solution provided by Windows. It is a useful option for users who need a basic recovery tool. However, businesses will need other backup solutions in the event that these legacy services are discontinued. For more information, check out our official blog post on enabling and disablingFfile History, linked in the description below.