File History Cleanup errors with 800405ff

Question

I'm trying to clean up my File History items on Window 8.1, but when I click on the "Clean up versions" I get the following error:

Could not clean up File History data

Failed to perform File History cleanup (error 800405ff)

This happens every time I click the button. The Event Log shows nothing, so I'm not sure where to go from here. What can I do to reset my File History, or at least clean up some of the old versions?

Answer 1

Things to try:

1. Try to clean up File History when booting in Safe mode
2. Check your File History drive for errors via chkdsk and Repair in Action Center
3. Select a different File History drive
4. Delete (but save) files at :
   C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory\Configuration.
   In case of the lack of access permissions, do this from a Linux Live CD.
5. Try these methods :
   • Use File History Cleanup from Control Panel
   • Use File History Cleanup from Command Prompt