Restore

This help page covers the restore of the Windows system state in the following sections:

Key:

Field Description
Select what to restore There are 2 options: 'Choose from files as of job' and 'Choose from all files'.
Show filter Input box for entering the pattern of files that you would like to show.(Backup filter is case sensitive.)
Restore files to Restore the image file to a hard disk.
Temporary Directory This is the temporary directory for files to be restored to.


To restore Microsoft Windows System State backup set:

For System State restore on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003/R2:

  1. Click on the storage that you want to restore the backup from.
  2. Select the backup snapshot from the 'Select what to restore' drop down box. If you choose 'Choose from files as of job', you can select the date and time of the backup from the date and time drop down box.
  3. Option: Click on the 'Show filter' to apply the filter, so that you can select the files with a certain file pattern.
  4. Select the files that you want to restore from the file tree. Click on the [+] in the file tree to expand the tree, [-] to collapse the tree. Click on the check box, all the files under the check box will be selected.
  5. Option: You can use the search function to search the files that you want to restore.
  6. Select the files that you need to restore. Click on [Next].
  7. Click on [Browse] to select the location to restore the files. Click on [Next].
  8. Select the temporary directory for storing restore files by clicking on [Browse].
  9. Click on [Restore] to begin the restore process.
  10. After restoration successfully, the restored system state data is stored in the "hostname" folder in the restore location.
  11. Open NTBackup, in the Windows Start menu, click [Run...] and type in ntbackup.
  12. Press [Next].
  13. Select [Restore files and settings] and press [Next].
  14. Click [Browse], browse to the SystemState.bkf file which you have restored via %edition_name% then press [OK].
  15. Expand the file tree from the left panel and select the corresponding System State file according to the file restored preciously. The correct SystemState.bkf file should be the one with the most updated modification time as the file in restored destination. Check the box in front of System State and press [Next] afterward.
  16. Review the settings.
  17. Click [OK] to confirm and start the restore process.
  18. The restore process is now completed.
  19. You can click on [Report...] to view the restore report, or click [Close] to finish the restore process. A restart must be performed after the system state restoration, and you are suggested to click [Yes] to restart your computer immediately.

For System State restore on Windows Server 2008/R2 and Newer Releases:

  1. Click on the storage that you want to restore the backup from.
  2. Select the backup snapshot from the 'Select what to restore' drop down box. If you choose 'Choose from files as of job', you can select the date and time of the backup from the date and time drop down box.
  3. Option: Click on the 'Show filter' to apply the filter, so that you can select the files with a certain file pattern.
  4. Select the files that you want to restore from the file tree. Click on the [+] in the file tree to expand the tree, [-] to collapse the tree. Click on the check box, all the files under the check box will be selected.
  5. Option: You can use the search function to search the files that you want to restore.
  6. Select the files that you need to restore. Click on [Next].
  7. Click on the drop down box 'Restore files to' to change the location to store the files. Click on [Next].
  8. Select the temporary directory for storing restore files by clicking on [Browse].
  9. Click on [Restore] to begin the restore process.
  10. After restoration successfully, the restored system state data is stored in the "WindowsImageBackup" folder in the restore location.
    !

    Important:
    In addition to the system state data, the WindowsImageBackup folder includes catalog files that contain information about all backups in there up to the current backup, and MediaId, that contains the identifier for the backup storage location. This information is required to perform a recovery. Do NOT alter the directory structure or delete any file / folder within the "WindowsImageBackup" folder.

  11. Copy the "WindowsImageBackup" folder and its content to the server that you want to perform the restore for, or to a network drive that is accessible to the server. The folder must be copied to the root level of a volume (e.g. top-most level), unless you are copying the folder to a network drive.
  12. There are 2 methods to recover the system state.

      For Windows Server 2008, you can ONLY use the WBAdmin command to recover the system state. Please refer to the following article for syntax information of wbadmin command:http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=140216
      !

      Please kindly note that file and folder recovery is not possible from a system state backup performed on Windows Server 2008.

      • To view the backup version identifier, run the following command in the command prompt as administrator.

        > wbadmin get versions

      • To restore system state, run the following command in command prompt as administrator.

        > wbadmin start systemstaterecovery -version:<VersionIdentifier> -backupTarget:<BackupDestinationVolume>

        Eg:
        > wbadmin start systemstaterecovery -version:09/24/2013-09:16 -backupTarget:G:

      • Press "Y" to confirm the operations. After that, you need to wait for the restore, it may take several minutes to hours.
      • After the recovery is completed, Click "Y" to reboot the computer.

      For Windows Server 2008 R2 and newer releases, you can use the Recovery Wizard in Windows Server Backup or wbadmin command to recover the system state.

      • Open Windows Server Backup from Administrative Tools or Server Manager.
      • In the Actions panel under Windows Server Backup, click Recover...
      • On the Getting Started page, select A backup stored on another location, then click [Next].
      • On the Specify Location Type page, select:
        • Click Local drives, if the system state data were copied to a local volume on the server.
        • Click Remote shared folder, if the system state data were copied to a network path accessible to this server.
      • On the Select Backup Location page, select the volume that contains the system state data.
      • On the Select Server page, select the server whose data you want to recover.
      • On the Select Backup Date page, select the point in time of the backup you want to restore from.
      • On the Select Recovery Type page, click System state.
      • On the Select Location for System State Recovery page, select:
        • Original location, to restore the system state to the same physical computer from which the system state backup was created.
        • OR
        • Alternate location, to restore a copy of the system state as a set of files.
          !

          You need to start the server in Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) to restore system state data containing Active Directory Domain Services. Please refer to the following article for more details: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=143754

      • On the Confirmation page, review the details, and then click Recover to restore the specified items.
      • On the Recovery progress page, the status and result of the recovery operation is displayed.
      • !

        For restore to Original location, the system state recovery cannot be stopped once it is started, or the system could become unbootable.


For System State restore on Windows Server 2008/R2 Domain Controller:

!

Important:
Authoritative restore of Windows 2008 Domain Controller is required only if you need to restore deleted Active Directories objects.

  1. Reboot the Windows Server 2008/R2 Domain Controller in Directory Service Repair Mode (DSRM):
  2. Perform the restore on the Domain Controller:
  3. Reboot the Windows Server 2008/R2 Domain Controller in Normal Mode:
  4. The restore process is now completed.