Editing Shadow Copy (section)

===Windows Vista, 7 and Server 2008 ===
Microsoft updated a number of Windows components to make use of Shadow Copy. [[Backup and Restore]] in [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows Server 2008]], [[Windows 7]] and [[Windows Server 2008 R2]] use shadow copies of files in both file-based and sector-by-sector backup. The ''System Protection'' component uses VSS when creating and maintaining periodic copies of system and user data on the same local volume (similar to the Shadow Copies for Shared Folders feature in Windows Server); VSS allows such data to be locally accessed by [[System Restore]].

System Restore allows reverting to an entire previous set of shadow copies called a ''restore point''.<ref>
Compare:{{cite web
| url            = http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-files/information-about-spp-folder-in-windows-vista/f050c2c8-2e8f-4092-9012-cd42c26ac18f?auth=1
| title          = Information about SPP folder in Windows vista 
| date           = 2010-08-20
| website        = Microsoft Community
| publisher      = Microsoft
| access-date    = 2015-07-22
| quote          = SPP stand for Shared Protection Point and is used by windows to store information on restore point.
}} 
</ref><ref>
Compare:
{{cite web
 |url= https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/filecab/2009/09/16/diagnosing-failures-in-windows-server-backup-part-1-vssspp-errors/
 |title= Diagnosing Failures in Windows Server Backup – Part 1 (VSS/SPP Errors)
 |last= Barreto
 |first= Jose
 |date= 2009-09-16
 |website= Storage at Microsoft: The official blog of the Windows and Windows Server storage engineering teams
 |publisher= Microsoft Corporation
 |access-date= 2017-09-11
 |quote= [...] the origin of the error is in an underlying layer such as Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), Shared Protection Point (SPP), or other applications that plug into VSS framework.
}}
</ref>
Prior to Windows Vista, System Restore depended on a file-based filter that watched for changes to files with a certain set of extensions, and then copied files before they were overwritten.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Russinovich |first1= Mark E. |first2= David A. |last2= Solomon |title= Microsoft Windows Internals: Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 |year= 2005 |publisher= [[Microsoft Press]] |location= [[Redmond, WA]] |isbn= 0-7356-1917-4 |edition= 4 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780735619173/page/706 706–711] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780735619173/page/706 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Windows Backup|url= http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windowsvista/features/foreveryone/backup.mspx|work= Windows Vista portal|publisher= [[Microsoft]]|access-date= 11 January 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070510204203/http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windowsvista/features/foreveryone/backup.mspx|archive-date= 10 May 2007}}</ref><ref name="BackupGuide">{{cite journal|last= Fok|first= Christine|title= A Guide to Windows Vista Backup Technologies|url= https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2007.09.backup.aspx|journal= TechNet Magazine|publisher= [[Microsoft]]|access-date= 11 January 2014|date= September 2007}}</ref> In addition, a part of [[Windows Explorer]] called ''Previous Versions'' allows restoring individual files or folders locally from restore points as they existed at the time of the snapshot, thus retrieving an earlier version of a file or recovering a file deleted by mistake.

{{Infobox software
| name                   = diskshadow
| logo                   = 
| screenshot             = 
| screenshot size        = 
| caption                = 
| developer              = [[Microsoft]]
| released               = 
| latest release version = 
| latest release date    = 
| operating system       = [[Microsoft Windows]]
| genre                  = [[Command (computing)|Command]]
| license                = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]] [[commercial software]]
| website                = {{URL|https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/diskshadow}}
}}
Finally, Windows Server 2008 introduces the <code>diskshadow</code> utility which exposes VSS functionality through 20 different commands.<ref>{{Cite web
 |url = https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc772172%28WS.10%29.aspx
 |title = Diskshadow
 |work = Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 documentations. [[Microsoft TechNet|TechNet Library]]
 |at = Windows Server Commands, References, and Tools
 |publisher = Microsoft Corporation
 |date = 28 September 2007
 |access-date = 27 March 2012
}}</ref>

The system creates shadow copies automatically once per day, or when triggered by the backup utility or installer applications which create a restore point.<ref>{{cite web
 |url= https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749185.aspx 
 |title= Selected Scenarios for Maintaining Data Integrity with Windows Vista
 |work= TechNet
 |publisher= Microsoft Corporation
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2007.09.backup.aspx|title= A Guide to Windows Vista Backup Technologies|publisher= Microsoft}}</ref> The "Previous Versions" feature is available in the Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate [[Windows Vista editions | editions of Windows Vista]]<ref>{{cite web
 |url= http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/footnotes.mspx 
 |title= Volume Shadow Copy and "Previous Versions" feature in Windows Vista
 |publisher= Microsoft Corporation
}}</ref> and in all [[Windows 7 editions]]. The Home Editions of Vista lack the "Previous Versions" feature, even though the ''Volume Snapshot Service'' is included and running. Using third-party tools it is still possible to restore previous versions of files on the local volume.<ref>
[http://www.shadowexplorer.com/ ShadowExplorer allows restoring lost or altered files]
</ref>
Some of these tools also allow users to schedule snapshots at user-defined intervals, configure the storage used by volume-shadow copies and compare files or directories from different points-in-time using snapshots.<ref>
[http://www.bearsontheloose.com/ TimeTraveler adds a timeline to Windows Explorer allowing the user to open, restore or compare files or directories from points-in-time]
</ref>
Windows 7 also adds native support through a GUI to configure the storage used by volume-shadow copies.