How to restore files from File History and Previous Versions

A file is missing or you need an older version of it, and a File History backup may exist. Restore it through File Explorer's Previous Versions tab, which previews the copies File History saved to its external drive or network location. The two things that decide whether this works are whether the folder was inside File History's backup scope and whether that backup drive is connected now.

Written by Essential Data RecoveryPublished 2026-09-13Owner-reviewedRevision 1

An open blank paper ledger with an arrow of small brass paper fasteners pointing back across earlier pages, on pale oak wood

A file has been deleted or changed, and a File History backup may exist. Windows gives this job two names: File History is the backup feature that copies your personal files to an external drive or network location, and Previous Versions is the File Explorer tab you restore them through. In Microsoft's current documentation they are one mechanism, because the versions listed on the Previous Versions tab are previewed through File History. That makes a version available only where File History was on and covering that folder before the file changed. One safety rule comes before any restore: the documented restore replaces the current version of the file or folder and Microsoft states that replacement cannot be undone, so copy the present version somewhere else or rename it first.^[1][2]

What File History covers, and what it needs connected

File History backs up your libraries by default: Documents, Pictures, Videos, and Music, plus any custom libraries you have created. Microsoft's article also describes the scope as essential folders that include Desktop. Either way the rule is the same: a file is only backed up if the folder it lives in is inside that scope. The copies go to one place you chose, an external drive or a network location, picked under Select drive in Control Panel. If that drive is not connected right now, the backup is intact but out of reach, and nothing appears in Previous Versions until Windows can read it again.^[1]

Confirm the backup is reachable

Connect the external drive File History uses, or make sure its network location is reachable.
Open Control Panel, choose System and Security, then Save backup copies of your files with File History, and check that the drive shown is the one holding your backups.
If File History was never turned on, stop here: there is no backup to restore from, and nothing in this guide can recover a file that was never copied.
If the backup drive is not detected, or the backup drive is the hardware that failed, stop here too: that is a drive recovery problem, not a File History setting. The guide to backups after data loss is linked at the end of this page.

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Restore the file with Previous Versions

The restore path runs through File Explorer rather than a separate File History window, and it restores the folder that contained the file, not the file on its own. The version you want is the one from before the loss: Microsoft's own example is that a file deleted today should be sitting in yesterday's version of the folder.^[1]

Restore a previous version

Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder that used to contain the file.
Right-click the folder name and choose Restore previous versions.
On the Previous Versions tab, pick a version from before the file went missing. For a file deleted today, that is usually the folder's version from yesterday.
Select Open in File History to preview the content of that version before you commit to it.
Select Restore to put the folder version back where it was. To keep the current contents as well, expand Restore and choose Restore to a different location.
If the file was in a library, right-click it in the location where it is saved rather than inside the library. If the folder sat at the top level of a drive, right-click the drive itself.

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Restoring replaces the current version of the file or folder on your computer, and Microsoft states the replacement cannot be undone. If the current version holds anything you want, copy it elsewhere or give it a new name before restoring. Restoring to a different location avoids the overwrite entirely and is the safer choice when you are unsure which version you want.^[1]

When no previous versions are listed

An empty Previous Versions tab has two usual causes, and both are stop conditions for this guide. The first is scope: if the folder was never inside File History's backup scope, no version was ever copied, and widening the scope now by adding folders to a library only helps backups made after the change. The second is the backup drive: if it is not connected or not recognized, Windows has nothing to read versions from, and reconnecting the drive that was selected under Select drive is what makes the list appear. One neighboring feature is worth separating here, because the names invite confusion: System Protection and its restore points snapshot system files, installed applications, the registry, and system settings so System Restore can roll Windows back, and Microsoft states that they revert the system without affecting personal data. Having System Protection turned on is not a personal-file backup.^[1][3]

What File History does not do

File History's documented job is personal files: documents, photos, and videos copied to an external drive or network location. It is not a full-system restore. Microsoft routes whole-PC recovery to other tools: Recovery Drive media can put a device back to factory settings even onto a replacement drive, which Microsoft calls bare metal recovery, but the Recovery Drive includes none of your personal files, and System Restore rolls back system state rather than restoring files selectively. The newer Point-in-time restore deserves a caution here, because it looks tempting when a file goes missing: it reverts the entire system drive, everything changed after the restore point is lost, restore points are kept for only about 72 hours, the BitLocker recovery key is required, and the PC must not lose power mid-restore. Do not use it to chase one missing file that File History can restore safely.^[4][2]

Restoring to a different PC

The restore path above happens on the computer whose folders you are browsing, and that is the only restore Microsoft's File History article documents. There is no documented step for pointing File History at a second computer and unpacking the backup there. Microsoft covers the move-to-a-new-PC case under separate transfer paths: PC-to-PC transfer, which needs no external drives, or copying the files across with an external storage device. The practical order is to restore the files onto the old PC or an external drive first, then transfer them.^[2]