Restoring Network Files and Folders Using Shadow Copy

Figure 1

Recovery of Network Files or Folders

Shadow Copy is a feature running on the server BSP-NAS that allows Windows users to restore network files and folders.  Users can quickly and easily perform the recovery instead of the server team for recently deleted, overwritten or corrupted network files and folders.

Important: Recovery of files and folders using Shadow copy is generally limited to the past two days.  In addition there may be times when previous versions may not be available due to server issues. If there are no previous versions available, then you will need to contact the helpdesk to have the server team perform the restore from tapeback.

Recovering a Deleted File

To recover a deleted file:

1. Navigate to the folder in which the deleted file had been stored.
2. Position the cursor over a blank area in the folder.
3. Right-click the mouse and select Properties from the bottom of the menu. Select the Previous Versions tab.
4. Select the version of the folder that contains the file before it was deleted, and then click View.
5. View the folder and select the file that will be recovered.
6. Drag and drop, or cut and paste, the shadow copy to the desktop or the original folder from which you selected to restore a previous version. You may have to shrink and move the two windows in order to see them simultaneously like the figure 2 below.

Figure 2

Recovering an Overwritten or Corrupted File

Recovering an overwritten or corrupted file is easier than recovering a deleted file because the file itself can be right-clicked instead of the folder. To recover an overwritten or corrupted file use the following procedure:

1. Right-click the overwritten or corrupted file and click Properties.
2. Select Previous Versions.
3. If you want to view the old version, click View. To copy the old version to another location, click Copy... To replace the current version with the older version, click Restore.

Recovering a Folder

To recover a folder use the following procedure:

1. Position the cursor so that it is over a blank area in the folder that will be recovered.
2. Right-click the mouse, select Properties from the bottom of the menu, and then, click the Previous Versions tab.
3. Choose either Copy or Restore.
4. Choosing Restore enables the user to recover everything in that folder as well as all subfolders. Selecting Restore will not delete any files.

Based on Microsoft's white paper on Shadow Copy Client available at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/techinfo/overview/scr.mspx