Windows 7 already sports some solid user data utilities, from its built-in backup tool to the greatly improved file and settings transfer wizard and System Restore. From what has been revealed in the early leaked milestone builds of Windows 8, Microsoft is clearly focused on offering even better ways to protect and restore our data.
The Windows 8 History Vault has been talked about before. It’s built around Volume Shadow Copy Service (or VSS) and will bring Windows users an experience which is very similar to that of Time Machine on OS X, and we’re now starting to see screenshots of the History Vault in action appearing on enthusiast sites around the Web.
History Vault presents a timeline which allows users to quickly select a previous date to examine. Above, bundles of folders are displayed similar to the way Libraries are presented in Windows 7: each snapshot can contain multiple groups (like ‘important folders’ and each group can contain multiple folders.
While it’s not revealed in the image, it seems likely that History Vault will allow you to select single or multiple file(s) or folder(s) to restore. The History Vault is also searchable, which will make it a much easier task to track down a specific file when you can’t quite remember which folder you deleted it from.
Microsoft is currently working on a new feature for Windows 8 named History Vault.
The feature will allow Windows 8 users to backup files and data automatically using the Shadow Copies function of Windows. The backup feature will include the ability to restore to a specific time or date on the system. Users will also be able to select files and restore them to different timestamps. WinRumors previously revealed the existence of the feature last month. Fresh screenshots are now emerging thanks to a recent leak of Windows 8 build 7955. The new screenshots show a special interface specifically designed for users to look back at previous files.
Apple’s Mac OS X currently includes a similar feature. Time Machine allows users to turn the clock back in time and retrieve data and files that have been previously edited or deleted. Microsoft’s History Vault is believed to be a rival to Apple’s Time Machine and will include similar functionality. Microsoft has had similar restore capabilities in Windows since Shadow Copies was introduced in Windows Vista. History Vault is set to expand on the underlying services and provide a full GUI for restore and editing purposes.
