MT5 trade history after a reinstall or a new PC: what you keep

Find out why history can look empty on a fresh install, how to restore it and which files you must back up before moving.

Sooner or later every trader changes computer, reinstalls Windows or moves the platform to a virtual server. The first thing many people then notice is that the History tab in MetaTrader 5 looks empty, or shows only a few days. That is usually not a loss of data. This page explains where your trade history actually lives, why a fresh install can seem to forget it, how to bring it back, and how to make sure your own journal survives the move whatever the terminal does.

Where the history really is

Your closed trades are stored by the broker on its trade server, tied to your account number. The terminal on your PC is a window onto that record, plus a local cache. When you log in on a new installation, the terminal asks the server for history and fills the cache again. So a new PC, a reinstall or a new VPS does not delete anything on the broker’s side. What changes is what the terminal has downloaded and which period the History tab is set to show.

Two things commonly make a fresh install look empty. The first is the period filter: the History tab shows a limited window, such as the last month, until you change it. The page on history period and custom date range shows how to widen it. The second is the login itself: if you are connected to the wrong server, or to a demo account, the list is different. Check the account number and server name in the Navigator and the title bar first.

A step-by-step recovery routine

Log in with your account number, your trading password and the exact server name your broker gave you. Do not use the investor password if you want to see everything the platform can show; see the investor password page for what it allows.
Open the Toolbox (View, then Toolbox), choose the History tab and set the period to a custom range that starts before your first trade. Give the terminal a minute to download.
Right-click the list and check that positions, orders or deals is the view you expected; the three views are explained on deal, order and position IDs.
If the list is still short, check whether the broker has changed servers or migrated your account. Older records may sit on the previous server, and the broker’s support can tell you.
If you need a record for a specific purpose, use the platform’s report export rather than copying rows by hand; export problems and fixes covers the usual snags.

What a new install does not bring back

Everything you created locally lives in the terminal’s data folder and is not on the server: chart templates, saved layouts, indicators and expert advisors you added, and any screenshots you took. If you only copy the terminal installation folder you will not necessarily capture the data folder, which Windows keeps in a different place. In the terminal, File, then Open Data Folder shows the path. Copy that whole folder if you want your templates and profiles on the new machine; the platform’s own help describes the layout, and since it can vary between builds it is worth checking on your own installation.

Item	Stored where	After a reinstall
Closed trades and balance rows	Broker server	Come back after login and a wide period
Charts, templates, profiles	Terminal data folder on your PC	Gone unless you copied the folder
Indicators and expert advisors	Terminal data folder on your PC	Gone unless you copied the folder
Your journal notes and ratings	Wherever you keep your journal	Safe if the journal is a separate file you backed up

A worked example (hypothetical)

Imagine a trader who moves to a new laptop. After installing MetaTrader 5 and logging in, the History tab shows only three trades from the current week, and the trader fears the rest is gone. Setting a custom period from the account opening date brings back 412 closed positions after a short download. The platform templates, however, are missing, because they were in the old data folder that was never copied. The numbers are invented; the lesson is that the trades were never at risk, while the local files were. A trader who keeps notes on each trade in a separate journal file loses nothing in either case.

Keeping your review data independent of the terminal

The safest setup treats the terminal as the source of raw trades and your journal as the place where your own thinking lives: the setup, the emotion, whether the plan was followed and the screenshot. AI Trading Journal is a Windows app for MetaTrader 5 only. It reads the closed trades from the terminal on your PC, adds new ones every 5 minutes, and keeps your notes in a file in your Documents folder, with an automatic daily backup as a .zip. If you move PC, you copy that backup, install the app, and restore; you then connect it to the terminal on the new machine. The first run on a new machine reads the whole account history again, so older trades return as the terminal downloads them. Notion is an optional extra copy and never required. The license is for one device at a time, so plan the move accordingly.

If you run the terminal on a server, the same logic applies and is covered in MT5 on a VPS and your journal.

Limits and cautions

How far back the broker keeps history is the broker’s decision; see how far back history goes.
Do not delete the old installation until you have confirmed the new one shows your account and history.
Never type your trading password into a website or a tool that asks for it; a journal that only reads local history does not need it.
All example numbers here are hypothetical and not advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is my trade history lost when I reinstall MT5?

No. Closed trades are kept by the broker. After login the terminal downloads them again once the History period is wide enough.

Why does my History tab look empty on a new PC?

Usually the period filter is short or you are on a different account or server. Set a custom period and check the login.

Do my chart templates come back?

Not from the broker. They live in the terminal data folder, so copy that folder before you move.

Where is the MT5 data folder?

In the terminal use File, then Open Data Folder. The exact location depends on your installation.

Does a journal file survive a reinstall?

A journal stored separately from the terminal does. Back it up and restore it on the new machine.

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