26-08-2011, 11:40 PM
[How To] Enable and configure previous versions / "shadow copies" on a Windows Server
Another quick thread with a couple of printscreens, again this should be more of a reminder to you people! (I know you love and support Windows servers).
This feature became available on 2008 servers upwards, including latest versions such as SBS2011 which we're rolling out.
Scenario
"Mark, I was working on a very important document this morning when I knocked my hot beverage, (brew), all over my keyboard and in my panic mopping it up I ruined my spreadsheet and it saved and closed on me! Now when I open it up it's all wrong and half of it is missing! It's going to take me forever to re-do, is there anyway I get it back to how it was this morning?"
The answer you want to this question is yes. If you haven't got previous versions enabled then plan B is your nightly offsite backup, (you also have one of those don't you?)
Hop onto your DC / File server right click your data drive, (you have your data on a seperate raided data drive don't you?), and click properties. And don't be fooled, within here it's called "Shadow Copies", click that tab.
Go to your drive, and click enable then yes on the box after that.
![[Image: previous-versions-01.png]](http://markwood.co.cc/donotdelete/enable-previous-versions-windows-server/previous-versions-01.png)
"That was easy", now to configure the shadow copies or "previous versions", by default it's set to twice a day (7am and 12pm i think) also off the top of my head it stores 64 versions of the file, so if you're storing it once a day you can go back 64 days! 32 days if it's twice a day etc... So click on settings and configure to your hearts consent.
![[Image: previous-versions-02.png]](http://markwood.co.cc/donotdelete/enable-previous-versions-windows-server/previous-versions-02.png)
I've had to hop over to another server here to show you it in action, (yes, that's my "software" folder, well some off it). Again go to the properties of the file and click this time on Previous versions, BAM, there's your list. Scroll down to whenever it was. (You might have it set to store a copy ever hour, be careful with this on highly used servers though).
Click restore, and watch a smile appear.
![[Image: previous-versions-03.png]](http://markwood.co.cc/donotdelete/enable-previous-versions-windows-server/previous-versions-03.png)
GO WINDOWS! I mean...
Another quick thread with a couple of printscreens, again this should be more of a reminder to you people! (I know you love and support Windows servers).
This feature became available on 2008 servers upwards, including latest versions such as SBS2011 which we're rolling out.
Scenario
"Mark, I was working on a very important document this morning when I knocked my hot beverage, (brew), all over my keyboard and in my panic mopping it up I ruined my spreadsheet and it saved and closed on me! Now when I open it up it's all wrong and half of it is missing! It's going to take me forever to re-do, is there anyway I get it back to how it was this morning?"
The answer you want to this question is yes. If you haven't got previous versions enabled then plan B is your nightly offsite backup, (you also have one of those don't you?)
Hop onto your DC / File server right click your data drive, (you have your data on a seperate raided data drive don't you?), and click properties. And don't be fooled, within here it's called "Shadow Copies", click that tab.
Go to your drive, and click enable then yes on the box after that.
"That was easy", now to configure the shadow copies or "previous versions", by default it's set to twice a day (7am and 12pm i think) also off the top of my head it stores 64 versions of the file, so if you're storing it once a day you can go back 64 days! 32 days if it's twice a day etc... So click on settings and configure to your hearts consent.
I've had to hop over to another server here to show you it in action, (yes, that's my "software" folder, well some off it). Again go to the properties of the file and click this time on Previous versions, BAM, there's your list. Scroll down to whenever it was. (You might have it set to store a copy ever hour, be careful with this on highly used servers though).
Click restore, and watch a smile appear.
GO WINDOWS! I mean...