A bug in the Windows Sept patch Tuesday update may stop File History from working. Lance Whitney is a technology journalist with an IT background. He's written for TechRepublic, PCMag, Macworld, and Time, among others, He also teaches classes in AI, cybersecurity, and social media. Last month's Patch Tuesday update can break File History in Windows. A fix is available through a new optional preview update.

PCWorld reports that Microsoft's September security update has introduced a bug breaking File History on both Windows 10 and 11, causing backups to fail entirely. Affected users may see incorrect "Reconnect your drive" error messages or find previously backed up files showing no available versions. Microsoft is working on a fix, but the only current solution is to uninstall the September update to restore backup functionality. Many users who have installed the latest September security patches for Windows have found that the "File History" feature no longer works--deleted or corrupted files can no longer be recovered. File History automatically saves copies of files, allowing users to recover accidentally deleted or corrupted files using older versions that were stored hours, days, or weeks ago. By default, File History backs up all folders in the user profile (Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop) to an external drive, such as a USB flash drive or a network attached storage (NAS) device. According to Microsoft, the issue is due to a bug that occurs in all current versions of Windows 10 and 11, including 21H2, 22H2, 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1.

Granted that incidents of a laptop or a desktop computer getting stolen are scarce, that however is no reason not to back up the data in your system in case of an eventuality. That eventuality could be anything from a hard drive crash to a virus infection. In other words, routinely backing up your computer is not a sign of paranoia but a healthy habit rather necessary in this age when more and more of the information that you carry, you do in the form of zeroes and ones. While the idea of a routine backup might make you groan, thinking about the amount of work involved, the good news is that backing up a computer is quite easy these days thanks to the terrific advances made in recent years in both local storage software and cloud storage. So, here are ways in which you could back up your computer properly.

Microsoft Ventures has added four more companies to its investment portfolio. Microsoft's venture arm, announced in May 2016, also is establishing an AI-specific fund, officials said on December 12. Officials said today's announcement of an investment in Element AI, an incubator and AI platform based in Montreal, is the first of its investments from this fund. When Microsoft announced Microsoft Ventures, officials said it would target startups in the cloud, security, and machine-learning/AI markets. Microsoft also announced investments of an unspecified amount in three other companies on December 12. As of today, there are now 18 investments in the Microsoft Ventures portfolio.

Microsoft Ventures has added four more companies to its investment portfolio. Microsoft's venture arm, announced in May 2016, also is establishing an AI-specific fund, officials said on December 12. Officials said today's announcement of an investment in Element AI, an incubator and AI platform based in Montreal, is the first of its investments from this fund. When Microsoft announced Microsoft Ventures, officials said it would target startups in the cloud, security, and machine-learning/AI markets. Microsoft also announced investments of an unspecified amount in three other companies on December 12. As of today, there are now 18 investments in the Microsoft Ventures portfolio.