Share via

Using Shadow Copy to Restore Previous Versions of a File

  • Article

Windows Vista offers a new Shadow Copy feature which saves previous versions of your files without you having to overtly create a backup of them. I’ve used the Shadow Copy feature in Windows Vista many times. There have been times when Word 2007 has crashed (gasp!) on me in the middle of writing a document, and with Shadow Copy, I was able to quickly restore the file and recover my data. What’s even better is that if you're like me and compulsively write and rewrite (and rewrite) your files over time, you can revert back to any previously saved state of that particular file -- for instance, if you’ve inadvertently overwritten it at some point. Not that I've ever done that ;)

The Shadow Copy feature is available only in the Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista.

It’s important to note that Shadow Copies are created automatically each day and, because they are shared with System Restore, also every time you install an application or a driver. They are not created each time you change a file, so you won’t have a fine-grained list of every change made to the file.

You can turn off the automatic creation of Shadow Copies via System Properties, found by right-clicking Computer on the Start Menu and choosing Properties. On the left-hand side panel you will see a listing for System Protection (requires UAC authentication). Choose the System Protection tab and uncheck the drive that is set for "Automatic Restore Points".

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Following up on my post from earlier this month on Shadow Copy in Windows Vista:  The other day...
  • Anonymous
    August 04, 2006
    Is this previous folders functionality implemented for folders as well or only for files? Because it's good if it's only for files, that way you cannot access a deleted file's properties, but if it's for folders, then it raises security/privacy concerns which the entire blogosphere is talking about - that some purposefully deleted stuff can be easily recovered. Have you considered this?
  • Anonymous
    August 04, 2006
    Shadow Copy also works for folders. What you see is the version of the folder that existed at the selected point-in-time. Note that it can be a little confusing to browse a previous version of a folder (or the entire disk) side-by-side with the live version -- the per-file restore experience is much better for typical usage.

    And yes, you will see files in the folder Shadow Copy that are deleted on the live version, just like you will see older versions of files that are newer on the live one.

    Shadow copies are managed and maintained at the volume (disk) level. To delete a file and all previous versions of it, you need to delete all shadow copies for its volume.
  • Anonymous
    August 04, 2006
    Hey someone -- I note that the Windows Network Development Team just posted about the news that's been circulating in the blogging community; you might check it out.  The link is http://blogs.msdn.com/wndp/archive/2006/08/04/WinInet_Index_dat.aspx.