Windows ship with backup features that are either turned off by default, configured too conservatively, or quietly insufficient for real data protection. Here are the five settings most Windows users overlook — and exactly where to find and change each one in under 10 minutes.
Windows does have built-in backup features. File History, Backup and Restore, and OneDrive sync are all present in Windows. The problem is that most of these features are turned off by default, poorly configured out of the box, or simply not designed to protect you from the data loss scenarios that actually happen to real people.
We analysed the default backup configuration of 50,000 Windows devices that came to Softyz after a data loss event. In 94% of cases, at least one of the five settings below was either off, set too low, or missing entirely.
🪟 Compatibility note
This guide applies to Windows 10 (version 1903 and later) and Windows 11 (all versions). Screenshots and navigation paths are for Windows 11 — Windows 10 paths are identical unless noted. If you’re on Windows 7 or 8, please consider upgrading — both are past end-of-life and no longer receive security updates.
Setting 1 — Turn on File History (it’s off by default)
Enable Windows File History
Default state: OFF on most Windows installs · Impact: Critical
🔴 Critical
File History is Windows’ built-in version history tool. When enabled, it automatically saves copies of your files in the Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders every hour. The problem: it is disabled on most Windows installations by default, and most people never know it exists.
Without File History, if you overwrite a Word document, accidentally delete a folder, or have a file get corrupted, Windows has no way to recover it. With File History on, you can right-click any file and choose “Restore previous versions” to go back to any saved version.
Settings → System → Storage → Advanced storage settings → Backup options
Settings › System › Storage › Advanced storage settings › Backup options
Automatically back up my files
File History — saves file versions hourly to selected drive
Back up every
How often File History saves a new version1 hour (recommended)
Keep my backups
- How long to retain saved versionsForever (recommended)
- Press Win + I to open Settings
- Go to System → Storage → Advanced storage settings → Backup options
- Toggle “Automatically back up my files” to On
- Set “Back up every” to 1 hour (default is every hour — keep it)
- Set “Keep my backups” to Forever (default is “Until space is needed” — change this)
Select a backup drive — ideally an external USB drive or network location, NOT the same internal drive as your Windows installation
💡Softyz note: File History is useful but local-only. If your PC is lost, stolen, flooded, or the external drive fails alongside the PC, File History can’t help you. Softyz stores your version history offsite in the cloud — protected even if your entire home or office is destroyed.
The 10-minute checklist — all five settings in one go
🪟 Complete Windows backup setup checklist
- ☐ Setting 1: Go to Settings → System → Storage → Backup options → Turn on File History
- ☐ Setting 2: Control Panel → File History → Advanced Settings → Set to every 10 minutes
- ☐ Setting 3: Control Panel → File History → Select folders → Add Downloads + project folders
- ☐ Setting 4: Start → Search BitLocker → Manage BitLocker → Turn on for C: drive
- ☐ Setting 5: Install Softyz from softyzinc.com → Run first backup → Verify in dashboard
With all five of these settings in place, your Windows PC has full local version history via File History, drive encryption via BitLocker, and offsite immutable cloud backup via Softyz. That is the complete protection stack — and it takes under 10 minutes to set up from scratch.