Shadow Copy feature question

[bloomlight]

I am trying to set up Shadow copy on our Windows 2003 server. After I enabled Shadow copy, asigned storage space and set up schedule, do I need to press "Create Now" button? What does the "Create Now" button do?

I thought that "Enabling Shadow copy" will create the task. I may be wrong. Do I need to press the "Create now" button in order to activate the Shadow copy task? Please advise. Thanks.

 

[IllogicallyLogical]

It is not necessary to press the "Create now" button to activate the shadow copies. Once you click "Enable", the shadow copies will be activated for the volume. The system should then begin to create a shadow copy and then follow the schedule for creating copies from now on. The "Create now" button is used for creating manual shadow copies for whenever you may want to create a copy aside from you scheduled intervals.

- Rapid Recovery with the Volume Shadow Copy Service

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2006/01/RapidRecovery/

Joey
CCNA, MCP, A+, Network+, Wireless#

 

[bloomlight]

Thanks for the help.

Now, I do have shadow copies created. How to use them? When I click on one of them, nothing happen. If I click Revert, the message says "A volume that contains operating system cannot be reverted". Do I need to install a program in order to open the shadow copies?

 

[ntinlin]

You would need to click on an individual file that you want to go to an earlier version of. That would be on the server.

If using XP or W2K you need to install the Shadow Copy client from MS.


You can't do anything with the shadow copies directly.

Neill

 

[porkchopexpress]

You also need to view the files through a share or you cannot see the files, when you have the shadow copy client (sometimes called the previous versions client) installed you can right click files or folders and you will see a tab called previous versions.

 

[bloomlight]

Thanks, Neill.

I was using the server (Windowms 2003 server).

If I am unable to open the shadow copies directly, what I am suppose to do?

Let's say I need to restore a user file(aaa.doc) to users shared folder. What do I need to do in order to get privous version of the file to its original place?

I am new in this area and would appreciate it very much if you can provide me step by step instruction on how I can restore files from the shadow copies.

 

[porkchopexpress]

You need to connect to the share that contained the missing files and then right click and select previous versions, it's a client tool rather than a server tool and is designed to let users restore their work.

Take a look at this.

http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_use_the_shadow_copy_client.htm

 

[bloomlight]

Thanks, porkchopexpress.

I followed the link that you provided and installed ShadowCopyClient.msi on the server. But when I go to a shared file(not tne missing one), I am still not able to see the "previous versions" tab.

Is that "previous versions" only shows on a missing file?

 

[porkchopexpress]

You can click the containing folder and view all of the files. Are you viewing the files through a share e.g. \\server\userwork you can't view the previous versions directly.

 

[kmcferrin]

Is that "previous versions" only shows on a missing file?

If that were true, how would you be able to pull up the "previous versions" tab on a file that isn't there?

You say that you're accessing a shared file, but are you accessing it via the share? Or are you logged into the server and accessing it locally from C: or D: or whatever disk it's on?

 

[bloomlight]

I was accessing server locally from C:\users\xxxx.xxx, sorry.

When I access a shared file from my WinXP computer, I now see the "previous versions" tab.

Thanks for all your help!!!!!