If you spend a lot of time using the computer, you will know that there is a mistake that we make more frequently than we would like: we accidentally replace a file or folder and overwrite it. Next we want to recover the initial data and we do not always have a backup available to save us. In that case, today we are going to see how to recover previous versions of overwritten or deleted files in Windows and what steps we must follow.
Obviously, the most useful and fastest thing is to resort to backup copies that we have made but we do not always have them or we do not always remember to save important documents in duplicate.
We recommend that you use all kinds of cloud storage services to back up important files. Or that you use Windows symbolic links that allow us automatic backups without having to worry about them. But if it is too late, you can get them back and we will explain how to do it.
Previous versions
We can consult the previous versions of a file or document from its properties but they will not always appear available to us.
- Tap on any document or folder on the desktop
- Right click with your computer mouse
- Open the Properties section
- In the top menu, choose “Previous versions”
If there are previous versions you will see the names and the modification date. IF you want to go back to any of them, just select it with the mouse and touch the “Restore” button in any of them and it will replace the current version with the previous one. The best thing to do before restoring to the version you want is to right-click and tap on “Open” to see what’s in that version of the file or in the folder’s content. This way we make sure that what we are going to replace is correct. Another option is to make a copy of the file before restoring a previous version so you don’t delete important content.
Does this button always appear? No. It may be that in many folders on your computer nothing will appear when you follow the previous steps because you will need to have a backup or restoration done previously.
Backup copy
If this version has not appeared, we must make backup copies of Windows if we want them to appear the next time it happens. In that case, we must follow these steps:
- Go to Settings in Windows
- Tap on Update & Security on the screen menu
- In the left menu, choose Backup
- Tap on “Add a unit”
- Choose the drive you want to backup
- Follow the Windows steps to create it
We will not always find a solution here so we will have to resort to specialized programs that will help us.
Previous File Recovery
You can use the PreviousFileRecovery program by downloading it from the link on its website. It is compatible with any current version of Windows from Windows Vista so you will not have any compatibility problems on your computer.
Once you have downloaded it, you can launch the executable that is inside the ZIP file that has been downloaded to your computer and follow a series of simple steps:
Set the base folder
We need to configure a base folder that is the one that the application will scan for previous versions of files, folders and subfolders.
Scan
This folder will be scanned for a few minutes, although the time it takes to complete it will depend on the number of files in this location. You can also choose from the settings which “depth in subfolders” is analyzed. You can choose from 1 to 19 how deeply you want the program to search for files to restore. You can also choose between the filters to decide if you want previous versions of files that have been overwritten or deleted or just previous versions of each file, for example.
Results
Once the analysis or scan is complete, the results will appear in a list at the bottom of the program. Here you will see the file name, the path, the file type, the current date, the previous date that it was modified and the current size and the previous size, as you can see in the screenshot.
You can filter or sort the results according to the data you want: sort them by previous dates, by size, by file name or by file type. Once you have it, you just have to tap on any of the previous versions to restore. Or, touch on several of them if you want to restore in bulk to previous versions that you have lost. It is quick and very easy to do.
Symbolic links for backups
If we want to prevent this from happening to us, we can use or create symbolic links. It is a Windows option that allows us to automatically make backup copies of a folder. For example, you can make a symbolic link from your text documents folder and take it to your Dropbox or Google Drive folder. Thus, when we save a new document it will automatically be updated in the sync folder in the cloud. If we lose it, we will always keep a copy available without having to follow the previous steps to restore.
To create symbolic links follow these steps:
- Press Win-R on your computer keyboard
- Type SYSTEM32 in the window and tap on the enter key
- The System32 folder will now open
- Look here for cmd and right click on the file
- Run as administrator
When we are in the Command Prompt we will have to write:
Mklink / D “path where we want to create the link” “file source path”
That is, we send our document folder to a backup folder. Therefore, the final path would be:
Mklink / DD: backup C: UsersUsuarioDocuments
This folder will be created automatically, which you will always have in sync. In addition to doing it with your file folder in the cloud, it is also compatible with an external hard drive that you have connected if you want to make backup copies here.