4 replies to this topic

[nitram]

Vista has an inbuilt undelete system based on Windows Server 2003’s versioning file system, Microsoft has revealed.

The technology, which is automatically switched on in Vista, will be a boon for anyone who has accidentally overwritten their PhD thesis with a BPAY receipt.

However, it will also no doubt play a part in plenty of future court cases revolving around files that people thought they had deleted.

The technology used to preserve the files is called “volume shadow copy”. In Vista, the user sees it as “previous versions“.

It keeps backups of older versions of files when you save a new version — sort of like how old versions of Word used to save “bak” files (though this technology is actually useful because it provides an interface for restoring versions reliably).

With shadow copy, if you accidentally erase some key paragraphs of a Word document and then manage to save over the top of the complete file, Vista will preserve the old version and you can restore it later.

But Microsoft says the feature can also be used in the case of accidental deletions.

“In the event of an inadvertent change or deletion of a file or folder, Previous Versions allows you to revert the file or folder to any previous version, restore a previous version from a backup (made with Windows Backup), or make a copy of a previous version.”

Previous Versions is automatically switched on in Vista, but can be disabled via the System Protection tab on the System Properties control panel.

Source - APC News

[mark64]

This sounds cool but.
How long does it keep the copy?
I can see large amounts of HD space being gobbled up.

[m.oreilly]

always turn of shadow copy here...

[Nvyseal]

Most likely, and knowing Microsoft, they made it quite easy to delete the undelete if you dont want it and the WGA will probably NOT have a undelete if they decide later on you have a peg leg!

[m.oreilly]

Nvyseal, on Jul 31 2006, 08:23 PM, said:

Most likely, and knowing Microsoft, they made it quite easy to delete the undelete if you dont want it and the WGA will probably NOT have a undelete if they decide later on you have a peg leg!

avast! ye slighthy toves :smoke: