How To Retrieve Lost Documents In Windows Vista

Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions include a feature called Shadow Copy that lets you browse backward in time, recovering a specific version of your file, not just the most recent copy.

Shadow copy is initiated for each system-restore point or backup point that Windows creates. To recover a lost document with Shadow Copy, right-click a file or folder, and select Restore previous versions from the context menu. Browse through the different modification dates, and click Open to preview the file as it was. Then just click Restore to retrieve a copy for current work.

All the versions of Vista (Starter, Home, Basic and Home Premium) also save Shadow Copy data but they don't give the necessary tools to access the "shadow" files. Fortunately, a free download called ShadowExplorer can add this retrieval in a snap. After installation, launch ShadowExplorer, and choose your desired restore date from the drop-down menu at the top of the window. Navigate through the file browser to locate an item that you’d like to restore, then right-click it and choose Export. Save it to any location you wish.