Patent ID: 6950836

Claim:
A method for automatically handling an error when retrieving a file for an application, comprising: detecting the error when the application attempts to retrieve the file from a storage device; checking a user defined policy to determine whether a backup copy should be restored, wherein the user defined policy is capable of indicating when the backup copy should be used in one of multiple circumstances based on whether the error is caused by a damaged file or by a missing file, and wherein the multiple circumstances are when the file is damaged and no modifications were made since the backup copy was made; the file is damaged and modifications to the file have been made since the backup copy was made; the file is missing and no modifications were made since the backup copy was made; and the file is missing and modifications to the file have been made since the backup copy was made; and restoring the file from the backup copy if the user defined policy indicates that the backup copy should be used.