Access Volume Shadow Copy (System Restore) files in Vista

[bradavon]

This is already possible with Ultimate, Enterprise or Business Editions of Vista (from the Properties window) but Home Editions it is not, regardless this awesome software works with any version of Vista.

Volume Shadow Copy is the engine that maintains System Restore on Vista (as well as letting you backup files currently open, presuming the backup software supports it). With XP, in order to gain access to the files in System Restore you really had to run a full System Restore to get at them. Obviously this can be overkill.

With ShadowExplorer (or the option built into Ultimate/Enterprise/Business) you can access these restore points as if they're Windows Explorer sessions. You can then just export the file you need. It couldn't be simpler.

This has just really saved my bacon, due to a database backup being corrupt but I was able to access the Volume Shadow Copy and retrieve an older version. If I was still running XP I'd be screwed.

ShadowExplorer is free too, get it here:

http://www.shadowexplorer.com/

Obviously if you're the type who disables System Restore this will do naff all. You can also see a guide how to use it here (including screen shots), as if you need one:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... ows-vista/

From the website:

From time to time, Windows Vista creates point-in-time copies of your files. This allows you to retrieve older versions from files you accidentally deleted or altered. This service is turned on by default on all versions of Windows Vista but Microsoft grants access to these copies only in Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions. This is where ShadowExplorer comes into play.

p.s - Yet another reason why Vista trumps XP.