I am sure at this point with Digg and a few other sources catching onto the article "The Vista Backups That You Can't Have" over at PC Pitstop that most have heard about this backup issue that exists in Vista. If not...here we go, if you own one of the Vista business versions (Ultimate, Business, or Enterprise) you have a utility known as "Shadow Copy" (a newer repackaged version of the "Volume Shadow Copy" technology used in XP to include user files), which allows you to restore a single file that you may have overwritten, accidentally deleted, or any other form of data loss/corruption. Sounds cool...the problem that some people are having is that...the key part of "Shadow Copy" is a tool known as "Previous Versions", which is included in all versions of Microsoft Vista, is backing up these changed files and you the user of those "Home" versions of Vista cannot restore or access this data without upgrading to Vista Ultimate for that "Shadow Copy" tool.
The biggest gripe is that if "Shadow Copy" isn't a part of the "HOME" versions, why then is "Previous Versions" still backing up this data? If half of the application is available then make the whole application available! If Microsoft insists on backing up this data regardless of the lack of access the user has to it, then we have an issue of a company holding YOUR data hostage and in my opinion...Microsoft has no right to duplicate MY data or to keep it in a form that I cannot access it. I am sure most will disagree on my proposed fix, but hey...I can take criticism. Microsoft needs to either add "Shadow Copy" to the "HOME" versions or it needs to stop these individual file backups, while retaining the Vista Restore functionality. From what I understand...Vista Restore and "Previous Versions" both utilize the "Shadow Copy" technology.
- "Shadow Copy" @ Microsoft
- "Recycle Bin not enough, Microsoft adds "Previous Versions" support on the file system level" @ ARS Technica (Old article...still applies)
- "Selected Scenarios for Maintaining Data Integrity with Windows Vista" @ Microsoft
- "Vista "Previous Versions" Feature" @ Realtime-Vista
- "Windows Vista "Time Warp": Understanding Vista's Backup and Restore Technologies" @ Channel9
- "Windows Vista File “Versioning” Feature a Security Threat" @ forever geek
- "Want Those Backed Up Files? You've Gotta Upgrade Vista" @ Gizmodo
- "All Your File Are Belong To Vista" @ Information Week
- "The Vista Backups That You Can't Have" @ PC Pitstop
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