Configure and use shadow copy in Microsoft Windows

By Mark W. Kaelin October 4, 2007, 12:58 AM PDT

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Configure and use shadow copy in Microsoft Windows

Vista System Properties

Shadow copy configuration
Before you can use the shadow copy feature you first must make sure it is enabled. Shadow copy does require additional system resources so you should weigh the benefits of file restoration with the availability of system resources. For most the benefits will outweigh the additional system requirements, but your situation may dictate a different approach.

Configuration settings for shadow copy can be found in System Properties. Navigate to the Control Panel and click the System Properties icon as shown. You can also type “system” into the Desktop Search box on the Start Menu.

Link to System Protection

On the System Properties window, click the System Protection link on the left-hand side of the screen. It is odd, but I could find no keyword that would lead me directly to the System Protection screen from the Desktop Search. The intermediate step to System Properties seems to be required.

System Protection tab

Once you get to the System Properties dialog window, click the System Protection tab to reach the configuration screen for shadow copy. Make sure to check the drives for which you would like shadow copy to be available. If you want you can create a restore point immediately by clicking the Create button. Under normal conditions, a new restore point is created as part of the shutdown/boot process.

You can also restore to a previous point from this screen if you want to and if a restore point exists. Click Okay when your configuration is complete.

Original ShadowTest.docx

As you can see, there is just one line of text in ShadowTest.docx.

Restore point established

For our example, I forced the creation of a restore point to create a shadow copy of our test file.

From this screen you can Open the document, Copy it, or use it as a restoration file.

Restoration warning

Restoration will replace whatever is in the current document with the version shown here in the shadow copy. Windows will warn you of this fact.

By Mark W. Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the information technology industry, software, hardware, gaming, finance, accounting, and technology geekdom for more than 30 years.

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