Restore previous version of windows vista

Probably the quickest solution is to use some command-line trickery to make the Volume Shadow copies show up in Explorer. Adi Oltean wrote a nice post on this a bit ago - I'll summarize the steps, but you should really read his post to understand what he's doing. While the actual commands may look a bit scary, it's actually incredibly easy. There are just three steps:. Pay attention to that last line! But, you should be able to do the above three steps in about a minute, at which point you can browse through the shadow copy via command-line or the Windows Explorer.

This all works because the files were always stored on your hard drive, they just weren't visible because they weren't associated with a drive letter. Creating a symbolic link takes care of that. When you're done, just delete the folder in Explorer and the link is destroyed. You can use Vista Anytime Upgrade to upgrade to a version of Vista which includes the Previous Versions user interface.

Remember that Vista's been making these file snapshots since you installed it, it just hasn't provided you a user interface to get to them. Take your pick. But again, this argument is academic when you've lost a file and want it back. Do you have repro steps? Visual Studio might be doing god knows what, I suppose, but writable files are sacrosanct. You really saved my life on this one. Thanks a million! Kudos to you! Nice post, concise and to the point.

It is nice to know that vista is nicer than its reputation makes it up to be I am a MacOS and Xp user. And Shadow explorer is a nice piece of software. Thanks for the help RC.

At last Vista has added a feature that was in, e. VMS in the 's! Seriously, though, the article was very helpful and Shadow Explorer worked like a charm to recover a file that Page Breeze Pro overwrote with an empty file.

Saved me a lot of work. Shadow Explorer saved my butt. Many thanks to the author on this. Then navigate to the Previous Versions tab. Select an approtiate version for the related folder. For example, I have deleted a text file named SupportLink. To restore the deleted file, open the SQL folder properties then select the Previous Versions tab as shown below. After an approtiate restore point or a folder version that may contain the desired file is selected, click the Open button.

The folder of that version will be displayed on the screen as viewing a current existing folder in the Windows Explorer window. The folder name contains the date that the folder was backed up as a restore point. You will see that the deleted file that I want to restore SupportLink.

You can also realize that on the left side pane, the D drive and its sub folder structure takes place. Reference: How much disk space does System Restore require? You can manage the disk space that is used by System Restore by following these steps:. Administrator permission required and if you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. You now have addition disk space reserved for shadow copy backups and system restore points.

Note that seven days is far too infrequent for System Restore and the volume shadow copy service to be of any practical value. Reference: Create a restore point.

SyncToy 2. Typical uses include sharing files, such as photos, with other computers and creating backup copies of files and folders. Most importantly, SyncToy has the ability to create backups on demand. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left source are repeated on the right destination. No files are deleted in the destination folder. You can verify that the restore point was created successfully by following the steps from Restore computer until step 8.

The restore feature is usually, by default, turned on. If this is not the case for your computer, follow these steps to enable it for Windows:.

Before you begin, you must have access to the Administrator user account or any user account that has administrative rights to the system. You will not be able to restore your computer if the restore feature is turned off or if Windows Vista is unbootable. You can turn on or off the restore utility of any Windows Vista systems by following these steps:. Windows 7 System Protection in Control Panel.

If you want to have the undo option, go to Using the installation disk. If your original Windows 7 installation disk is available, you can run the restore process from System Recovery Options by following the steps below.