again File History backup

Thanks :)

mla said:

First, I appreciate all for your inputs...
From all above tests and different results including myself it shows that File History is a lost blackbox in case of problems.

Sure, it cannot serve my initial purpose to backup flawlessly newly added files to the source folder.
I spent enough time and now can say that I will forget it with great pleasure (no sarcasm :) ).

Today I found an app called Cobian Backup.
It is simply wonderful. The developer sold it to the company that made it commercial, but on his website provides his last version before selling it. It supports Windows 10. (CobianSoft - The home of Cobian Backup)

Made multiple tests...
The prog can run as a service... and it says all. It does the job with no logged in user and backups any new or changed file.
Interface is simple with more than enough options. The scheduler is absolutely flexible. Real time LOG.
And the most important everything works from first clicks.
All I did : set source, destination, for test put it for every 3 min. And added files and folders to the source.
Than made first full backup. And set Backup task to Differential. Works as a charm.
Sure it can use shadow copy (in my scenario I don't need it).

This soft is from type set and forget. What a relief... After playing with Veeam agent and File history it is real miracle.
Sure I will send some donation from my pocket to the developer. And will use it for rare need of particular machine in enterprise environment.

Sorry for such emotions :).

OK if it works for you but Reflect is a more mainstream solution

Just when I thought I might be some help, you solve the issue another way. But I will write this in case it helps anyone else.

btw, I was originally going to remark that for your circumstances, a simple xcopy (or xxcopy, or robocopy) script might be sufficient - I have been using a scheduled task to run a simple xcopy batch file to back up my data, evolving a bit since 2004. It doesn't give version control (only latest, changed files are saved), and can go wrong, of course.

But back to FH: I also confirmed that if the user for whom FH has been set up is not logged on, no backup occurs. You could, of course, set up FH for every user, but that would be tiresome. However, I did confirm that if it is set up for just one user, and that user is left logged in but disconnected, then FH runs as expected, regardless of who/what changes the designated folder contents. The overhead associated with one disconnected user is small, so this may be practical.

Good luck, Martin

Hi Martin,
> However, I did confirm that if it is set up for just one user, and that user is left logged in but disconnected, then FH runs as expected, regardless of who/what changes the designated folder contents. The overhead associated with one disconnected user is small, so this may be practical.

Indeed this could be practical in my situation if it works as you mention.

I have every day scheduled restart of the machine.
How to "set up" the user session to disconnected state?

Thanks.

You just log user1 in, then log in again as someone else without logging user1 out. However, admin users can use Task Manager to log out (disconnect) user 1, so they have to know not to do so.

Like I mentioned, there is scheduled restart every night.
So after restart disconnected session will fly away.

And I have to do the same manipulation every day in order to have a disconnected session...

For the last month to assure backup process, I logged in every morning with the user name with File History set up. And clicked Run now.

Not end of the world but the automation is lost. I could just ask "operator" to do this every morning.

Again something weird with File History thing. If it was designed for home users it make sense that Papa will set File History for kids, when he is not logged in.
If it is for Pro or Enterprise users it must work independently for all users after Admin set it in his profile, like let say Firewall or Remote access settings.
It is only my logic/wish :).

Sorry, didn't read the 'restart' bit carefully enough!

I don't think FH is intended for enterprise (work) environments, given the way it depends on each individual turning it on. Nor do I think MS give any thought to 'Papa' - but if they do, they probably expect him to turn FH on individually for each kid (which you can do, of course). Unless you are on a very tight budget, you should consider a commercial backup option. Macrium Reflect (paid for) can do file backups, but I have no experience of it (but can recommend it for OS imaging).

It is possible to set up Windows to automatically log a user on following a restart, but the only method I have seen has security implications - see here. That said, I think the user can (and should be) be a non-admin acct, which doesn't have to have a password (if your setup is happy with that). But you are trying to get FH to work in a situation it wasn't really designed for.

Do you have to restart the machine each day? If so, then you can schedule a Macrium Reflect image/file-backup to run just before the restart.

Thanks for reply...
Sure $75 for Macrium Workstation absolutely not a problem. But I don't want to introduce another thing with support renewal and etc.

There are few free softs (one that I mentioned above) for a simple task, that File History is not capable to do. And multiple tests just shows inconsistency and guesses.
I started all this because File History looked like a neat build in solution.

Also, like somebody mentioned, simple xcopy will do the job. I used it somewhere in 1999 for a company backup.

Thanks again. At least everything is clear about File History.