Using Shadow Copy to Restore Previous Versions of a File

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".