How to Recover an Overwritten File in Vista

Windows Vista's Shadow Volume Copy utility saves previous versions of your files.

Like its predecessor, Windows XP, Windows Vista contains a system utility called "Volume Shadow Copy" that saves copies of older versions of files and folders you've changed. Unless you've disabled the Shadow Copy feature, you can use it to restore previous versions of files that have been overwritten with changes. Shadow Copy can also be used to restore previous versions of entire folders and even deleted files.

Instructions

1. Open the Windows Explorer. In Windows Vista, you can open the Windows Explorer by right-clicking on the "Start" button and selecting "Explore" from the pop-up menu.

2. Locate the file. Navigate to the folder where your overwritten file is stored. Locate the file you want to recover. Right-click on the file name and select "Properties" from the pop-up menu.

3. Click the "Previous Versions" tab in the file properties box to bring the tab to the front. If you do not have a "Previous Versions" tab, then the Volume Shadow Copy function has been disabled on your computer and you will not be able to use it to restore your file. You may still be able to restore your file using data recovery software.

4. Review the versions listed in the File Versions box. If you are unsure which version you would like to restore, select a version and click the "View" button to preview the file or folder contents.

5. Determine which version you would like to restore. Select that version. Click the "Copy" button to save a new copy of the file, or click "Restore" to overwrite the current version with the older version that you have selected. Unless you have a solid reason to prefer the "Restore" option, always use the "Copy" option to recover your file or folder.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use the recovery feature in Windows XP and Windows Vista to recover folders as well as files. Be sure to use the "Copy" option when recovering a folder, as selecting "Restore" will cause all files in the folder to be returned to a previous version. It is possible to restore files that were complete deleted from a folder by using the recovery feature to make a new copy of the folder from a version that contained the deleted file.

• Use the "Copy" option to restore files unless you have a strong reason to choose the "Restore" option. Once you have used "Restore" to recover a file, all other versions of the file will be lost. You cannot return to the now-current version of the file once you have gone back to a previous version using "Restore."

References

• University of North Carolina: How do I recover files I have overwritten in Windows XP and Vista
• Lehigh University: Using Shadowcopy to retrieve deleted or previous versions of a file

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish