Recover Files with Shadow Copies on Any Version of Windows Vista
This article was written by our very own whs, one of the most helpful forum members.
The "Previous Versions" feature in Windows Vista is a major step forward for users, since it provides some built-in protection against losing important files. The problem is that the home versions of Vista don't give you an interface to access them, even though it's enabled by default!
Enter ShadowExplorer, a utility that runs on all versions of Vista and will let you access your "Shadow Copies", which are the internal backup copies of files that Vista stores every so often.
Recovering Files with Shadow Explorer
First launch ShadowExplorer as administrator by right-clicking on the entry in the start menu and choosing Run as Administrator. (Update:It should launch as administrator by default otherwise, but if it doesn't then use the right-click method)
The initial screen will show you a drop-down menu with the shadow copies of all partitions and disks you have.
Click on the last shadow (see the date) from THE DAY BEFORE the unfortunate event happened - make sure you get the right partition (most likely C: for your own files)
Since most of your files are in your User folder, double click C:\ then in the left pane choose "Users".
Then in the right pane double click the folder with YOUR NAME ( probably the last folder before desktop.ini). There you will find all your folders (and some more)
Now you can right-click on the folder or file you want to recover and EXPORT it to wherever you like on your system.
After clicking on Export, you'll be prompted for the directory you'd like to save the recovered files into.
Note that the Shadow Copies / Previous Versions feature is not a substitute for a proper backup solution, but can greatly help in a pinch.
Nice Article!
I would like to thank the Geek for putting some "meat" around my skimpy input. I would also like to thank jd2066. He found the ShadowExplorer program on the web. He is a much better Googler than I.
What if I don't have Shadow Explorer on my Start menu.
I use the classic start menu.
What's the command line for it?
ok, stupid question.
sorry.
Thanks for this… Time and time again I manage to mess up something that requires me restoring it from memory… MY OWN MEMORY. This is a good tool to try to fix some of those mistakes I've made at 3 am in the morning… Thanks!
Works nice, thanks alot. It will come in handy one day Im sure.
There is no entry called "Shadow Explorer" or anything similar in my Start Menu. So Bob's question wasn't stupid. How can I access Shadow Explorer?
@Grant
Did you already install the application? Once you install it, it should show up in the start menu.
Nice! Any idea how much space shadow copies take up on your hard drive though?
Also, I submitted this to digg since it's so awesome. Please digg it up if you have an account, and don't let the stupid lifehacker version of the story hit the frontpage like they always do with How-To-Geek stories.
http://digg.com/microsoft/Reco.....n_of_Vista
@Ibrahim, Each shadow is +/- 1GB and about 15% of your disk spaces are reserved for shadowcopies. If you want to look at them, open Command Prompt (in accsessories) as Administrator and type VSSADMIN LIST SHADOWS and press ENTER. And if you want to know the size (used, allocated) of your shadowstorage type VSSADMIN LIST SHADOWSTORAGE and press ENTER. Shadowstorage is allocated on every disk (logical or physical, internal or external).
@Ibrahim
Thanks for the support, I definitely appreciate the sentiment.
In fact, this site has grown dramatically because of great readers like you, not because of Digg. It's been 9 months since we got on the front page there, and I'm just not worried about it at all… I'd rather build our own community. =)
How can I turn shadow on for all my partitions? Shadowexplorer only shows my C drive.
Thanks
Alex
I found the answer: Systemrestore needs to be turned on for all the partitions
This was extremely helpful however what if the date you need doesn't show up in the drop down menu. I get the dates from before the event took place. I guess I have to take it to an IT person huh?
Oh sorry I meant I get the dates after the event, not before it.
I had by mistake restored the factory setting of my windoes vista. I did not take a backup. How do I restore my previous files
Ikm sur that is going to do well for me,,,but for now, I'm stock at
((First launch ShadowExplorer as administrator by right-clicking on the entry in the start menu and choosing Run as Administrator. (Update:It should launch as administrator by default otherwise, but if it doesn't then use the right-click method),))
ShadowExplorer is not in in the start menu..were do I go from now.