Restore individual files

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If a user accidentally deletes a file, the file was on a server share, and you allocated space for deleted files when you configured your backup, first try to restore the file from the client computer by using the following procedure.

  1. Right-click your My Documents folder, and then click Properties. The properties dialog box appears.
  2. On the Previous Versions tab, double-click the most recent version of the folder that contains the file that you want to recover. A list of files appears.
  3. Select the file that you want to recover, and then click Restore.

Warning

Restoring a previous version will delete the current version. If you choose to restore a previous version of a folder, the folder will be restored to its state at the date and time of the version you selected. You will lose any changes that you have made to files in the folder since that time. If you do not want to delete the current version of a file or folder, use Copy to copy the previous version to a different location.

Note

You can also recover documents deleted from your shared folder on the server. This folder is located at \ServerName\Users<EM>YourUserName.

Note

If there is no Previous Versions tab, this feature is unavailable. Contact the person responsible for your network.

If the accidentally deleted file is not on a server share, or you cannot recover the file using the preceding method, you might need to recover the file from your backup by using the following procedure.

To complete this procedure, you must be logged on as a member of the Domain Admins security group.

  1. Insert the correct tape into the tape drive, or connect the removable hard drive to the system.
  2. Open the Backup Utility, which is a feature of Windows Server operating systems.
    If the Backup Utility does not recognize the tape, the Recognizable Media Found dialog box appears. Select Allow Backup Utility.
  3. On the Backup or Restore page, select Restore files and settings.
  4. On the What to Restore page, under Items to restore, select files or folders that you want to restore, and then click Next.
  5. On the Completing the Backup or Restore Wizard page, review the settings. If you want to change the location to which the backup is restored or how the existing files that you are backing up are handled, click Advanced.
    1. On the Where to Restore page, you can change the location to which your files are restored, or you can choose to have your files restored to a single folder.
    2. On the How to Restore page, you can choose what to do with the versions of the files that already exist on your computer.
    3. On the Advanced Restore Options page, if you chose to restore to the original location on the Where to restore page, ensure that theRestore junction points, but not the folders and the file data they reference check box is selected. If you chose to save to a different location, ensure that the check box is not selected.

Note

To open the Backup Utility, click Start, click Run, and then type ntbackup.

Note

Do not recover files through a Remote Desktop session.