Microsoft shared simple fix for Windows 11/10 bug that seemingly broke a vital OS feature

From time to time, Microsoft offers helpful advice, recommendations, as well as solutions on different Windows issues or inconveniences on its official website. For example, recently we covered one such issue wherein the company explained ways to unblock Windows updates in case your low storage wouldn't let you download new patches.

Regarding storage, Microsoft also put up another such support article last year that helps solve what was a major issue related to data and storage. The company shared a simple fix for a bug on Windows 11 and 10 that seemingly affected File History, a very crucial Windows feature that helps protect your personal data against loss or damage. Neowin noticed this article while browsing.

For anyone not familiar, the File History feature automatically backs up all your selected libraries to a chosen network or external drive. Hence it is super handy, which means its malfunction can be very scary.

That's what happened to many users back in 2024 when they began reporting an issue on Windows 11 wherein they experienced a "Reconnect Your File History Drive" warning following which the backup would stop. What baffled such users is that the error would continue popping up even after reconnecting or never disconnecting their external drive or network drive.

Over one hundred users had upvoted one such thread on Microsoft support forums regarding this issue, but there was no solution in sight. Another similar thread received over twenty upvotes. Typically, the number of affected users is multi-fold the number of upvoters since many users don't actually go online to interact. It looks like the issue affected at least close to hundreds.

In the support article Microsoft explained why it happened and how to resolve it. It wrote: "This message indicates that your File History drive has been disconnected for too long.

• If you’re backing up to an external drive (like a USB drive), make sure it’s connected to your PC
• If you’re backing up to a network location, open the Control Panel, under System and Security, select File History and reselect the network
• After you’re reconnected, wait for the next scheduled backup. If you prefer to start a backup manually, open the Control Panel, under System and Security, select File History > Run now."

Hence, the solution seems fairly simple, sort of like rebooting a device if something doesn't work. If you are experiencing this problem, see if this fixes your issue. You can check the official support article here on Microsoft's website.