Restore Windows Small Business Server

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For an updated version of this procedure, see the Windows Small Business Server 2003 Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=17117).

In the event of a system failure, use the following procedure to restore your server from the latest backup.

Warning

If you are restoring to a different computer than that which was originally running Windows Small Business Server, make sure that the following is the same between the original and the new computer:

  • SCSI controller. However, you can restore to a computer that has an IDE controller if the original computer had SCSI.
  • Motherboard chip set.
  • Number of processors.
  • Hard disk size. The hard disk must be the same size or bigger than the original computer.
  • Drive letter of the boot partition.

We recommend restoring to the same brand and model of the original computer.

Important

If you upgraded your server from Small Business Server 2000, you need to create a floppy disk to use for the CD boot before you begin the restore. To create the disk, copy Winnt.sif and Winnt.bat from the \SBSSUPPORT\UpgradeRestore folder on Windows Small Business Server 2003 Disc 3 to a floppy disk. In Winnt.sif, be sure that TargetPath under [Unattended] is set as equal to your installation directory before the restore. The default is TargetPath=Winnt. In Winnt.bat, be sure that the drive letter is equal to the drive letter of your CD drive. The default is D:.

Important

Before restoring your server, disconnect any external disk drives from the server.

  1. If you upgraded from Small Business Server 2000: Turn on the computer and insert the floppy disk into the floppy disk drive and the Windows Small Business Server 2003 Disc 1 into the CD drive. Ensure that the computer BIOS is set to boot from CD (for information about how to do this, see the documentation from your computer manufacturer). When a message appears prompting you to boot from the CD, press any key. If you did not upgrade from Small Business Server 2000: Turn on the computer and insert the Windows Small Business Server 2003 Disc 1 or the DVD (if available) into the drive. When a message appears prompting you to boot from the CD, press any key.
  2. When the Welcome to Setup page appears, press Enter.
  3. On the Windows Licensing page, read the agreement, and then press F8.
  4. Select the partition where you want to restore your operating system. If you have not yet partitioned your disk drive, you must do so at this time. Follow the instructions in the wizard.

Note

Your partitions must be at least equal in size to what they were prior to the backup, and the boot partition must be in the same location as it was prior to the backup.

Note

The partition to which you restore your operating system must have the same drive letter as it did prior to the restore.

Setup copies temporary files to a Windows installation folder on your computer. This takes a few minutes. After copying is complete, Setup restarts your computer and the **Installing Windows** portion of the operating system installation begins.
  1. On the Regional and Language Options page, customize your regional and language options if necessary.
  2. On the Personalize Your Software page, enter the information you want for each field.
  3. On the Your Product Key page, enter your product key.
  4. On the Computer Name and Administrator Password page, enter the same administrator password that you used previously.

Note

It is strongly recommended that you enter a standard computer name and non-blank administrator password. A standard computer name is a unique name of up to 15 characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and the hyphen (-).

  1. On the Date and Time Settings page, verify the information. The Finalizing Windows portion of the operating system installation begins. After your operating system is installed, your computer restarts.
  2. As soon as the computer restarts, press F8 to open the Windows Advanced Options Menu.

Note

If a logon screen appears, log on using the administrator account and restart the computer again. You can hold down the F8 key while the computer restarts to ensure that you get the Windows Advanced Options Menu.

  1. Select Directory Services Restore Mode.
  2. Log on by using the administrator password.

Important

If you have external disk drives, open Disk Management, and then connect your drives. Using Disk Management, configure your drives exactly as they were previous to the restore. After your drives are configured, you might be prompted to restart your computer. If so, as soon as the computer restarts, press F8 to open the Windows Advanced Options Menu and continue with Directory Services Restore Mode.

  1. Insert the correct tape into the tape drive, or connect the removable hard drive to the system.
  2. Click Start, click Run, and then type ntbackup to open the Backup Utility. If the Backup Utility does not recognize the tape, the Recognizable Media Found dialog box appears. Select Allow Backup Utility to use all the recognized media.
  3. When the wizard starts, click Advanced Mode.
  4. On the Restore and Manage Media tab, double-click the tape file corresponding to your last full backup. If you are restoring from disk or from a network share, right-click File in the navigation pane, click Catalog File, type the path or browse to your backup file, and then double-click the file.

Note

If you are restoring from a network share, ensure the IP address of the server and the client computer are in the same address range. For example, set the server's IP address to 192.168.1.1 and the client computer's IP address to 192.168.1.100. When the restore is complete, change the client computer's TCP/IP settings to obtain an IP address automatically.

Note

You need to authenticate to the client computer using the client computer's Local Administrator account.

  1. Select the check boxes to restore all of your hard disks and system state, except Microsoft Information Store.

Note

Exchange Server and all its data are restored from the drive or drives on which they are installed.

Note

If you double-click the drives, an estimated completion time is displayed during the restoration.

  1. Under Restore files to, ensure that Original location is selected.

Note

You can also double-click the drives to get an estimated completion time for the backup.

  1. On the Backup Utility menu, click Tools, click Options, and then click the Restore tab.
  2. Select Always replace the file on my computer, and then click OK.
  3. On the Restore and Manage Media tab, click Start Restore.
  4. In the Warning dialog box, click OK.
  5. In the Confirm Restore dialog box, click Advanced. On the Advanced Restore Options page, ensure that the following four check boxes are selected:
    • Restore security settings.
    • Restore junction points, and restore file and folder data under junction points to the original location.
    • When restoring replicated data sets, mark the restored data as the primary data for all replicas.
    • Preserve existing volume mount points.
  6. Click OK twice. At this point, the server restore begins. This might take several hours.
  7. When the restore is complete, click Report to verify that the system state and all files were recovered. There might be a few files for which the Backup Utility was unable to set the short file name. These files include:
    • \Documents and Settings\Administrator\Recent\*
    • \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\*
    • \WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\DataColl\*
    • \WINDOWS\system32\inetsrv\History\*

Important

If files in your system drive have short file names that cannot be set, you need to ensure that they are non-critical files. If they are critical files, format the drive and repeat the restore process. Otherwise, this should not affect the function of the server after restore. To avoid this problem, ensure that your drives are formatted correctly before restoring.

  1. Close the Backup Utility, and reboot your server in normal mode.

Important

If you are restoring to different hardware, some services fail due to hardware differences. Windows needs to undetect and redetect all of the devices on the system. This can take several hours. Log on to the server to begin this process. After all device drivers have been installed, restart the server.

Important

If you are restoring to the same hardware, verify that no services failed to start after the server has restarted. If any services did not start, you need to manually restart them. After the server has restarted, some devices might need to be redetected by Windows. If the message Windows has finished installing new devices. The software that supports your device requires that you restart your computer. You must restart your computer before the new settings will take effect. Do you want to restart your computer now? appears, click Yes.

  1. Restart client computers to rejoin them to the network.
  2. If you chose to exclude client applications from the backup, click Start, click Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then reinstall your applications. Any other items that you chose to exclude from the backup need to be reinstalled as well.
  3. Perform the following tasks to ensure that the restore was successful:
    • Open Server Management, and then confirm that the state of your users and computers match what is listed in the backup report.
    • Ensure that you can connect to the Internet.
    • Open https://companyweb/ and ensure that the site appears.
    • Send and receive e-mail.