Retrieving a previous version of a document from the H: and I: drives, using

Shadowcopy

The new MS servers have a feature called Shadow Copy. This feature saves backups of previous versions of files on the H and I drives, and also allows backups to occur while files are open. Shadow copy backups are being made twice a day at 12 noon and 7pm. This allows you to restore files or whole folders that have been changed/overwritten or deleted. The Shadow copy volume has a limited amount of space and will overwrite the oldest entries when it runs out of room. Files and folders can still be restored from tape backups-- requests for restoration from those backups should go through your Computing Consultant or Margaret Petrovich in Client services.

To restore a file you have overwritten,

1. Choose My Computer from your Start menu
   
2. In the My computer Windows Explorer window, double-click on the H drive to open it.
   
3. In your H: drive, find the file you want to restore.
   
4. Right click on the document you want to restore.
   
5. Choose Properties
   
6. In the Properties window, choose the Previous Version Tab.
   There may be one or more previous versions.
   The Shadow Copy feature gives you the choice to View, Copy, or Restore the files.

View

1. To examine a particular version, select the version and click View; the item will be opened as read-only.

Copy (Recommended Option)

1. To save a copy of the older version in another location rather than overwrite your existing one, select it and click Copy;
   
2. Find (and/or create) the folder you want to save it in, and click the Copy button.

Restore (NOT RECOMMENDED)

( This option will actually "roll back the file/folder to its state at the date and time you selected. You will lose any changes you have made subsequent to that date and time.)

1. To overwrite the current copy of the file with the previously saved one, select the version you want to return to and click Restore.
2. You will get a warning message:
   Click Yes.
   
3. The current file will be overwritten by the restored version
4. Click Ok.

To restore a file you have deleted, or all the files in a given folder:

Before you start: Using the 'Restore' option in this process will copy or overwrite ALL the files in a given folder. If you are only trying to get back certain files in the folder, use the Copy function to copy the folder to a different location!

1. Choose My Computer from your Start menu
   
2. In the My computer Windows Explorer window, double-click on the H drive to open it.
   
3. In your H: drive, find the folder in which the file(s) you want to restore are/were.
4. Right click on the folder, and choose Properties
   
5. In the Properties window, choose the Previous Version Tab.

Select the version you want, and:

• To see what would be in the folder, click View.
• To Copy the older version of the folder to another spot, click Copy and select a folder to copy to. The folder being restored will be copied as a subfolder to the destination you select.
• To restore to the older version, click Restore. Click Yes to accept the restoration, and OK on the window that says the restoration is completed.

Remember: restoring files or folders in place removes the Shadowcopy backup; you will not be able to revert to the version that was current before the restore!