A Windows backup set contains a server's unique operating system data and configuration information. You must restore this data using the "rebuild a server" recovery method.
When restoring a Windows backup set to a server, you restore the operating system files and registry information from the original server. Restoring the original server's registry also restores the original computer name, and returns the server to its original domain with a computer account matching the System ID in Active Directory. For Exchange 2000 Setup to complete successfully when run in Disaster Recovery mode, Setup relies on some of the unique configuration information included in the Windows backup set (such as the registry, the Windows 2000 IIS metabase, and so on).
For information about how to create a Windows backup set, see "Creating Windows 2000 Backup Sets".
Note In general, the older your Windows backup set is, the more likely you are to experience problems that must be resolved before you can restore Exchange 2000. Therefore, you should create Windows backup sets at least once a week.
Because of the dependencies among System State components, you cannot use Backup to back up or restore individual components. However, you can restore the following System State data by restoring a System State data backup to an alternate location:
- Windows 2000 registry files
- Windows 2000 boot files
- SYSVOL directory files
- Cluster database information files
Note You cannot restore the Active Directory services database, the Certificate Services database, and the COM+ Class registration database to an alternate location.
To restore a Windows backup set
- Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup.
- Click the Restore tab, and then, in the console tree, click the backup media you want to restore. If the correct media does not display under File, you may need to rebuild the catalog. For more information about how to rebuild the catalog, see "Rebuilding a Catalog for a Restore".
- Click the check boxes next to the drive letters for your boot partition and system partition, and then click the check box next to System State .
Important To properly restore all Windows components, a Windows backup set must contain the System State data, the boot partition, the system partition, and must have been backed up as part of the same backup job.
Drive letter and System State options on the Restore tab
- In the Restore files to list, select the location to where you want the files restored. By default, the location specified is Original location.
- Click Start Restore.
- In the Restoring System State will always overwrite current System State unless restoring to an alternate location warning dialog box, click OK.
- In Confirm Restore, click Advanced to specify advanced restore options, or click OK to start the restore. For more information about the advanced restore options in Backup, see "Selecting the Advanced Options for the Restore".
- . If Backup prompts you for the location of the backup file to use in the restore, select the correct backup file name, and then click OK. For more information about how to select the correct backup file name, see "Selecting the Backup File Name".
- After the restore is complete, ensure that the restore was successful. For more information about how to check the success of a restore job, see "Checking the Success of a Completed Restore Job".
- After you verify that your Windows backup set is successfully restored, in the Restore Progress dialog box, click Close. You are then prompted to restart your computer to complete the restore. Click Yes to restart.
Important If you perform this procedure as part of rebuilding a server, after restarting your computer, you may experience errors indicating that one or more services could not start. These errors occur because restoring the Windows backup set also restores the original registry of the server being rebuilt. That registry may include entries that attempt to start services that are not yet reinstalled (such as SMTP). Ignore the errors. These errors should be resolved when you finish rebuilding the computer.
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
