Windows Shadow Volumes

Volume Shadow Copy Service

Windows has included the Volume Shadow Copy Service in it's releases since Windows XP. The Shadow Copy Service creates differential backups periodically to create restore points for the user. Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions include tools to work with and manage the Volume Shadow Copy Service, including the ability to mount shadow volumes on disk images.

Also see

• Mount shadow volumes on disk images

External Links

• VISTA and Windows 7 Shadow Volume Forensics, by Rob Lee, October 2008
• Into The Shadows and Presentation, by Lee Whitfield, April 2010
• Accessing Volume Shadow Copies, by Harlan Carvey, January 2011
• Volume Shadow Snapshot format, by the libvshadow projects, March 2011
• A Little Help with Volume Shadow Copies, by Corey Harrell, April 2011
• Volume Shadow Copy with ProDiscover, May 2011
• Shadow Timelines And Other VolumeShadowCopy Digital Forensics Techniques with the Sleuthkit on Windows, by Rob Lee, September 2011
• HowTo: Mount and Access VSCs, by Harlan Carvey, September 2011
• Examining Volume Shadow Copies – The Easy Way!, by Simon Key, June 2012
• Getting Ready for a Shadow Volume Exam, by Jimmy Weg, June 2012
• Mounting Shadow Volumes, by Jimmy Weg, July 2012
• Examining the Shadow Volumes with X-Ways Forensics, by Jimmy Weg, July 2012
• “Weg, I’m afraid that I don’t have VMware. How do I Examime Shadow Volumes?”, by Jimmy Weg, August 2012

Tools

• EnCase with VSS Examiner Enscript (available from the downloads section of the GSI Support Portal)
• libvshadow
• ProDiscover
• ShadowExplorer
• VSC Toolset
• X-Ways Forensics