Discussion on:

Recover data files in Windows 7 with Previous Versions

I did not realize System Restore had this capability, did you? That helps explain why it takes so long to create a restore point. This tool can come in handy, don't you think?

I have known about the "restore to previous version" feature. However, I have also discovered it to be unreliable. Most of the time, there are "no previous versions" available, although there are a good number of restore points to select.

...the Other considerations section of the article:

In summary:
The Previous Versions tab will display that message if the file has not been changed since the last Restore Point was created. However, that doesn???t mean there isn???t a previous version stored in the Restore Point. In fact, if you open and save the file, you will see the Restore Point version in the Previous Versions tab.

A great concept but, in my professional experience, these Windows restore functions just aren't what they're cracked up to be. Much to my disappointment, they appear to have a very high failure rate - so much so that I have often simply turned them off. While I strongly suspect this problem may have something to do with some undocumented incompatibility with automatic defragmentation utilities, I haven't the time or interest to invest in the investigation. Hopefully, someone reading this will take up the challenge to finally figure this out. I simply caution my clients to regularly back up their data and to NEVER rely on these built-in features.

PS: By "undocumented incompatibility with automatic defragmentation utilities," I should explain that I always configure them to use defragmentation methods that have been optimized for VSS whenever appropriate but that doesn't appear to help.

I guess I am the only one who has had complete success with Previous Versions and VSS restores. Especially for the cheap SMB clients who do not want to properly invest in backup solutions. Just make sure to allocate enough space to the VSS and you will be golden... I could get in on how to do that... But that is another blog.

... but what a reality check for those clients that neglect to invest in backup security if they ever fail! - Or should we say WHEN they fail? One of my clients that ignored my repeated advice to invest in a backup system ended up with a virus after the Payroll Manager went on Facebook (will they ever learn). It totally wiped out the partition table of the hard drive containing their payroll database - their only copy! Of what use is System Restore or Previous Versions when faced with such a scenario? NONE! What's more, the Payroll Manager responsible for this had missed payroll - with the Thanksgiving holiday less than a week away! The recovery process took me 3 days, working around the clock, was 100% successful, and they made payroll before the holiday hit but it was a very expensive lesson learned and, yes, you'd better believe they also had me install a backup system.

Thanks

The wording in Figure F is far from ideal as it does not tell you any details about the file you are about to overwrite. Why not just say:

Replace
fred.exe 11/09.2011 13:14 3.4MB
with
fred.exe 10/09/2011 12:11 3.3MB
Yes - make a copy - Cancel

Is it just me, or does anyone find the dialog when you go to paste a file on top of another file in Explorer also confusing?
Again, why not say 'replace xxx with yyy'
Yes - Make a new copy - Cancel
The XP 'replace' dialog was much clearer in my view.

OK it works for files deleted today, what about files deleted 2 weeks ago after numerous shutdowns and start ups?

Hi from Paris, France ; so i apologize for my english ...
It appears that effectively not all files are available from W7 Recover, and that it may be deceived with system crashes (what ? it happens ???).

So i always use a very old version of SECOND COPY for that goal ; not so difficult to set up, il allows to be scheduled for example every night, and it achieves the most important recommendation about data security : make SEVERAL copies (versions) of your data, and on ANOTHER drive (than the saved one).

Even with 3 daily automatic saves, what about a mistake you made in a database or an accounting software 2 weeks ago ?
I also remember IBM's tips from when the PC (or MAC) did'nt exist... Take some time and space to also keep 2 special global saves : one let's say every 2 MONTHS, and one YEARLY, delays depending on your productivity.

Thanks for your great articles, mr Shultz !

It certainly may come in handy one day. Thanks.

Thanks. I have seen the Restore Previous Version in the context menus and wondered what it meant. I never bothered to find out, but after reading this article I think I'm going to start trying it. Thanks for the info.

informed me that the System Restore feature "will not work" unless the Shadow Volume Copy (SVC) service is running. At the least, it must be running while each Restore Point is created, and at the time that any Restore Point is accessed or restored. They advise that a Restore Point that is created while SVC is disabled, for example, prior to updating a driver, may not be valid with regard to restoring the previous system state perchance the system doesn't work with the driver.

Since Windows does not have a feature which enables the SVC service only while a Restore Point is being created or is being restored, only the user can effect that. Accordingly, Restore Points which are made automagically by Windows may not be valid unless the SVC service is always running by default.

The accumulation of Restore Points that are expanded by SVC copies of files considerably increases the amount of storage space that Restore Points occupy on the drive, to say the least. You might not think that this is a concern, but you would probably be better off with a RAID 1 setup with two drives, in which one drive is a mirror of the other.

What I do not understand is why the SVC service makes a copy of each and every DELETED file before it is deleted!! When I delete a file, I want the file to be deleted, and that is why I confirm the deletion! (Then I must eventually delete it from the Recycle Bin, of course.) If I wanted to make a copy of the file, then I would have instructed Windows to do that.

Of course, copies of a deleted file as its content existed at the time of any other type of "backup" in which it was included still exist. Sometimes they are also restored to the drive from a backup copy regardless of whether that was intended. Any good backup and restore utility program has a feature(s) that allows that to be controlled by the user, however.