While working everyday in our busy lives our mind is occupied with several things. In this hustle sometimes we may delete or modify some of our important documents and folders or we may not to be able to find a file that we previously stored at some place. In such conditions one can use system restore to safely retrieve the lost data. If you are already using Windows backup then you can very easily go in the backup files and click restore to the files you need and are not available. Another way to go about it is to restore your system to previous versions. Windows has several restore points and while we are working it automatically saves certain files and folders of previous versions. Previous versions are more commonly known as shadow copies. These will help restore your system to its last restore point.
There are basically three methods of file restoration. They are:
1. Restoring the files from a backup
There is simple wizard that guides you through the system restore process once you start it. To reach to that first you have to click on the Start logo given in your tool bar. There you’ll see an option Control Panel. Click on it and enter the control panel screen. You’ll see various options and one of them will System and Maintenance. Once inside it select the option for Backup and Restore. And finally click on the Restore my Files option to begin the system restoration wizard.
2. Restoring a file that you have deleted
For this step you need to know where you had saved the file before you deleted it. Once you know it, select the Start button and go into Computer. Follow the path to the place you had stored the file previously. Once you are there click on that folder and select the option Restore previous versions. In case an entire drive’s data has been lost then right click on the drive and then on the Restore previous version option. Windows has various restore points. So while you are performing Restore previous versions you may be given more than one version of the same file. If you are using Windows backup it will also have files from the backup versions. If you are using both of them then all the available files from both will be shown during the process.
Restoring the files and folder to their previous state
For restoring the files to previous versions you need to follow the same procedure as mentioned above. Here also you will get as many previous versions as there are available. Also before making the changes select the previous version, open it and check to see if it’s the one you need. Files stored by backup can’t be opened and only can be restored. Once you click on the restore button the windows will change it to the version you have selected. Be carefully in doing so because the current version will be completely erased and can’t be bought back. You cannot restore the files if the Restore previous version is not available in your computer.
