System State data is a collection of unique settings and files stored on your computer that allows your Windows 2000 Server computer to operate properly.
Backing up the System State data preserves the unique information about a server that must be restored when attempting to rebuild a damaged server. You must restore this unique information before you run Exchange 2000 Setup in Disaster Recovery mode on a rebuilt server.
The Windows 2000 System State data backup contains the following system components of Windows 2000 Server:
- The Windows 2000 registry
- Windows 2000 boot files
- Windows 2000 protected operating system files
- The Windows 2000 IIS metabase
- COM+ Class registration database
- Certificate services database (if the server is a certificate server)
- Active Directory directory service (if the server is a domain controller)
- The SYSVOL directory (if the server is a domain controller)
- Domain Name Service (DNS) zone information (if the server is running DNS)
- Cluster service resource registry checkpoints and the quorum disk resource data (if the server is running the Cluster service)
- To back up Windows 2000, you must back up both the System State data and operating system files.
- To back up a computer's System State data, use the System State option in Backup.
- To back up a computer's operating system files, back up the boot partition (the partition that contains the files that start Windows 2000) and the system partition (the partition that contains the Windows 2000 folders, such as the WINNT, Documents and Settings, and Program Files folders).
A backup set that includes backups of the Windows 2000 operating system files, the System State data, and the boot and system partitions is called a Windows backup set.
Important In preparing to restore the Windows 2000 operating system configuration information, you must restore the server's System State data and its operating system files; these data and files must be part of the same backup set.
For more information about how to create and restore Windows backup sets, see Creating Windows 2000 Backup Sets and ôRestoring Windows 2000 Backup Setsö in Part 3 of this document.
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
- Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server
