Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Maintaining previous versions on different drives

By default, Windows 7 maintains shadow copies/previous versions for all files on the main Windows hard drive - typically, the C: drive. The shadow copies are stored along with all the information that's stored in a restore point (see the section "Using System Restore and Restore Points," later in this tutorial.) If you have other drives and you want Windows to keep previous versions of files on the other drives, you have to warn Windows.

Actually, previous versions are maintained separately for each partition. So if you have one hard drive with two partitions, C: and D: drive, and Windows is on the C: drive, the C: files are protected automatically, but you have to tell Windows that you want it to keep shadow copies of the D: files.

Microsoft calls this automatic storage of shadow copies "system protection." When you want to tell Windows that it should keep shadow copies of all the files and folders on your D: drive, for example, you're "enabling system protection on D:" in Microsoft-speak.

Here's how to tell Windows that you want to keep shadow copies of files and folders on your D: drive:

1. Choose Start → Control Panel → System and Security, and then click the System link.
   Windows shows you the View Basic Information about Your Computer dialog box.
2. On the left, click the link that says System Protection.
   You see the System Properties dialog box.
3. In the Protection Settings area, select the drive where you want Windows to generate shadow copies and click Configure.
   Windows shows you the System Protection dialog box for the drive.
4. Select the button that says Only Restore Previous Versions of Files. Consider adjusting the disk space reserved for shadow copies (yes, the default is a whopping 15 percent of the hard drive's capacity), and then click OK.
5. Click the X Close button to close the System Properties dialog box. Windows starts gathering shadow copies with its next automatically generated restore point - typically, around midnight.