Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Windows File History VS Time Machine

Compare Windows File History VS Time Machine and see what are their differences

Windows File History logo Windows File History

File History protects files from within the libraries, desktop, favorites, and contacts folders and...

Time Machine logo Time Machine

Time Machine is the breakthrough automatic backup that’s built right into Mac OS X.
  • Windows File History Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-02
  • Time Machine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-24

Windows File History features and specs

  • Automatic Backup
    File History provides automatic backup of files saved in common user folders like Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop, reducing the need for manual backups.
  • Version Control
    File History keeps a history of changes made to files and allows users to restore previous versions, offering flexibility in file recovery.
  • Easy Restoration
    Restoring files is straightforward, allowing users to easily browse through backups and recover individual files or entire folders as needed.
  • Incremental Backups
    Only new or changed files are backed up, which saves time and storage space on the backup drive compared to full backups.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The interface for setting up and managing backups is simple and integrated into the Windows Control Panel, making it accessible for non-technical users.

Possible disadvantages of Windows File History

  • Limited Customization
    File History primarily targets default libraries and user folders, offering limited options to include other folders or exclude certain files.
  • External Drive Requirement
    An external drive or network location is required for the backups, which may be inconvenient for users without access to additional storage devices.
  • No System Image Backup
    File History does not create full system image backups, meaning users need additional solutions to protect their entire system and applications.
  • Not Suitable for All File Types
    Certain file types or folders outside the user libraries may not be backed up, potentially leading to incomplete data recovery in case of failure.
  • Performance Impact
    Automatic backups can potentially impact system performance, especially if they occur during resource-intensive tasks.

Time Machine features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Time Machine is built into macOS, making it simple and intuitive for Mac users to back up their data automatically without needing additional software.
  • Automatic Backups
    Automatically backs up the entire system, including apps, music, photos, emails, and documents, at regular intervals without user intervention.
  • Versioning
    Maintains multiple versions of files, allowing users to revert to earlier versions or recover deleted files easily.
  • Seamless Integration
    Integrates seamlessly with macOS, ensuring optimal performance and compatibility with other native Apple applications and features.
  • Incremental Backups
    After the initial full backup, Time Machine only backs up changed files, saving space and reducing backup time.

Possible disadvantages of Time Machine

  • Storage Requirements
    Requires a significant amount of storage space, especially for the first full backup, which can be cumbersome for users with limited storage capacity.
  • Mac-Only
    Exclusively available for macOS users, which limits its utility for those using other operating systems.
  • External Drive Dependence
    Requires an external hard drive or Time Capsule for backup, which can be an additional cost and inconvenience for users who do not already own one.
  • Initial Backup Time
    The initial backup process can be time-consuming, depending on the amount of data that needs to be backed up.
  • Network Performance
    Backing up over a network can sometimes affect performance and speed, especially on slower networks or with large amounts of data.

Windows File History videos

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Time Machine videos

Bad Movie Beatdown: The Time Machine (2002) (REVIEW)

More videos:

  • Review - The Time Machine (1960) Review
  • Review - THE MORLOCKS (The Time Machine) EXPLORED

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Windows File History and Time Machine)
File Sharing And Backup
25 25%
75% 75
Backup & Restore
22 22%
78% 78
Cyber Security
14 14%
86% 86
Backup And Disaster Recovery

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Windows File History and Time Machine

Windows File History Reviews

Best Windows backup software 2023: Free and paid options reviewed | PCWorld
Among the free programs we tested, Windows File History backup is one of the easiest continuous data protection software for Windows. It’s unfortunate that the latest version removed the “add folder” function from File History, but otherwise it continues to improve upon an already solid backup program. Also, it provides many of the features and functions of other third-party...
Source: www.pcworld.com

Time Machine Reviews

We have no reviews of Time Machine yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Windows File History seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Windows File History mentions (1)

  • How to secure your data?
    (1) How to encrypt data: data encryption 101 and best practices. https://preyproject.com/blog/data-encryption-101. (2) 3 Ways to Encrypt Files - wikiHow. https://www.wikihow.com/Encrypt-Files. (3) 5 Ways to Back up Your Data and Keep It Safe - Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/ways-to-back-up-your-data-2640426. (4) Back up your Windows PC - Microsoft Support.... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Upgrading C:/ Drive from 128gb to 1TB Question
    You can use "System Image" https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-and-restore-your-pc-ac359b36-7015-4694-de9a-c5eac1ce9d9c. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Task Manager says that I am using 3.4 gb of RAM while nothing is open. How can I free up RAM?
    Make a system snapshot if these instructions seem iffy. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Changing the CPU priority to High on Windows
    I'm not responsible for any damage to your system. You are a conscious human being and you have to make sure no mistakes were made. You have the possibility to make a Backup beforehand (which is right now!) and/or backup the Windows Registry. As long as the game is running at the highest priority it can slow down your overall systems performance including Browser, Music, Discord, Streaming and so on. Source: about 3 years ago
  • backup via control panel not recognizing my backup
    Alright so like last night I backed up my data onto my external hard drive via the backup program accessible from control panel. After clean installing win11, and following the steps from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-and-restore-your-pc-ac359b36-7015-4694-de9a-c5eac1ce9d9c, the backup doesnt seem to show up even after checking the usb connection and spamming the refresh button many times,... Source: about 3 years ago

Time Machine mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Time Machine yet. Tracking of Time Machine recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Windows File History and Time Machine, you can also consider the following products

Duplicati - Free backup software to store backups online with strong encryption. Works with FTP, SSH, WebDAV, OneDrive, Amazon S3, Google Drive and many others.

Acronis True Image - (Formerly Acronis True Image) Complete protection for your digital life

Duplicacy - A new generation cross-platform cloud backup tool

Clonezilla - Clonezilla is a suite of software that's designed to allow you to back-up and image new hard drives with your data.

Deep Freeze - DESCRIBING DEEPFREEZE SOFTWARE Deepfreeze, by Faronics, is an application that solves a unique problem that many companies have these days; it prevents an end user from making permanent changes to important system/administrative files.

rsync - rsync is a file transfer program for Unix systems. rsync uses the "rsync algorithm" which provides a very fast method for bringing remote files into sync.