How to Restore a File with Previous Versions

With Previous Versions, users can quickly restore a file to an earlier state that was established either when a shadow copy or a file backup was made. Previous Versions cannot restore a file from a System Image backup, even though you might be able to extract the file manually from the System Image disk image. However, System Image backups do initiate a Volume Shadow Copy, and a version of a file might be available from the shadow copy.

To restore an earlier version of a file, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the file and then click Restore Previous Versions. The Previous Versions tab appears.
   Note If you delete a file but remember the filename, create a file with the exact same filename in the same folder, and follow the steps in this section using the new file. The file can be empty; as long as the filename matches, you'll be able to restore an earlier version. Otherwise, you can view the Previous Versions tab in the Properties dialog box for the parent folder and restore only the file you need. You can also browse for the file manually using the Backup And Restore Center.
2. If an earlier version of the file is available, click it and then click Restore if the button is available. For system files, you can click Open or Copy. The Copy File dialog box appears.
   When restoring a file, you can overwrite the existing file or save it with a different name.
3. You can choose to overwrite the existing file or save the recovered file with a different name.
4. Click Finish.

To allow users to take advantage of previous versions, provide them with an online backup solution using the Backup And Restore Center. Most often, backups for computers connected to your internal network are saved to a shared folder on a server. For mobile users, backups can be saved to external hard disks.