I have often stressed the importance of backing up your important folders and files. Given that Vista includes a backup program, there are no excuses for not performing regular backups.

Assuming that you have a backup of your folders and files, restoring a folder or file is a relatively simple process. To restore files in Vista:

1. Click the Start button, and click Control Panel. The Control Panel window appears.
2. Click System and Maintenance, and then click Back Up and Restore Center.
3. Click Restore files.
4. Choose either to restore the latest backup or a previous backup and click Next.
5. Choose the folders to restore.
6. Click Next.
7. Choose the location you want to restore to and click Start restore.

The files you selected in step 5 are restored to the location you chose in step 7.