Forum Discussion
How can I restore a Windows 10 file history backup on Windows 11???
When I attempted to update from 10 to 11, the install froze and bricked my PC. The hard drive had to be reformatted in order to install Windows 11. (grrrrrrr....)
I'm now attempting to restore all of my documents from my Windows 10 File History backup, but the backup does not show up in File History. (grrrrrr...)
I can see the backup in an Explorer window, and all of the files are there, but the names have all been appended with a string of text including a date, other numbers, and "UTC" all within parentheses. In addition, there are 4 folders within the backup folder labeled DESKTOP-FOG06F4 with an appended number, all with different dates, which I'm assuming are incremental backups. Both of these issues would make it extraordinarily difficult to just copy and paste the data back onto my internal drive.
Is the Windows 10 File History format incompatible with Windows 11? (If it is, how is there not a HUGE warning about this prior to updating the OS??? grrrrr....)
If this is the case, would reverting my PC back to Windows 10 make it possible to restore everything properly?
4 Replies
Same issue!
Incredible that something like this can occur. It's one of the many reasons why I've always preferred Macs - this kind of thing would never happen.
Further investigation is showing that the multiple DESKTOP folders are not incremental backups, but appear to be entirely different files with no duplicates amongst them. Not sure why they're separated into different folders.
Follow these steps: First, connect the original backup drive → open Settings → System → Storage → Advanced backup options → Restore from Windows 10 File History.
Thank you, but those menu items do not appear in Windows 11. The closest I can get is
Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Backup options
There is no "Restore from Windows 10 File History" option.
