88. Windows Volume Shadow Copy Usage

• Other names:

  • Volume Snapshot Service

  • Previous Versions

  • Shadow Copies for Shared Folders

  • VSS

• Beginning with Windows Vista, and continued by Windows 7, the VSS is used by the System Protection component.

• System Protection creates and maintains periodic copies of system and user data on the same local volume.

  • (This is similar to the Shadow Copies for Shared Folders feature in Windows Server)

• System Protection allows is used by System Restore.

• The System Restore allows reverting to an entire previous set of shadow copies called a Restore point.

• A shell extension called Previous Versions allows restoring individual files and entire folders locally from the existing restore points, retrieving an earlier version of a file or recovering a file deleted by mistake.

• The shadow copy is not created every time a file is changed. The backup copy (a restore point) is created

  • automatically once per day, or

  • manually when running the backup utility, or

  • manually when the installer program is run on the system.

• Previous Versions shell extension comes with

  • Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista, and

  • all Windows 7 editions.

• The Volume Snapshot Service is included and running on all editions of Vista, including the Home Editions:

  • Using third party tools it is still possible to restore previous versions of files on the local Vista or Windows 7 volume.