We’ve all accidentally deleted or changed a file that we couldn’t get back, either we haven’t got a backup or the scheduled backup ran before the file was created.

You can use the recycle bin to recover documents but Previous Versions can do far more including:

Recover files that have been permanently deleted

Recover entire folders that have been permanently deleted

View and restore files that have been changed or saved over

I want to recover a file

Lets do it. In this example we are going to recover document that has been saved over by accident. The document lives in the My Documents folder and is named Letterhead.docx.

Firstly click the Start Menu and open your Documents folder.

Once open locate Letterhead.docx and right click it.

Listed on the menu will be an item named “Restore previous versions“. Click this and you will be presented with a list of all of the versions that are recoverable.

Not seeing any recoverable items?

Follow this video to make sure you have System Protection turned on.

At this point you can decide which version you want to open, restore or copy.

Open will allow you to view the file in its application (Microsoft Word in this instance).

Copy will prompt you to save the file in a new location.

Restore will overwrite the latest file (once you have confirmed).

This feature is also available for files stored on servers – talk to us if you’d like to know more.

Another useful tool for recovering files is Recuva made by Piriform. It is especially useful for recovering files from external storage such as USB drives and memory cards.

BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP
Whilst the previous versions function is quite powerful it does not replace the need for backing up your system. Backups provide protection from issues such as hardware failure whilst the previous versions function cannot.

There are many backup options available nowadays, we can help you find the perfect fit to your business.