The steps for restoring data
with Microsoft Backup are similar to the steps you learned in the
earlier lesson
to create the backup in the first place.
- As you did earlier, start the backup wizard from the
Start menu, selecting
All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup. The same
wizard that you used to create the backup walks you through the
process of restoring data from backup. Figure 5-1 shows the wizard's
opening screen.
(apologies for some images not showing on this page)
Figure 5-1: Start the backup wizard.
- Click Next to bypass the wizard's
first screen.
- Select Restore files and settings, as
shown in Figure 5-2, to switch the wizard into restore mode.
(apologies for some images not showing on this page)
Figure 5-2: Choose to restore files.
- Click Next to move ahead in the
process. This is where things begin to get a little different. The
wizard presents a directory structure obtained from the backup media
with a checkbox appearing to the left of each file and directory, as
shown in Figure 5-3.
Figure 5-3: Select the files to
restore.
Computer Backups
- You have options at this stage of the restoration. You can
simply choose the checkbox next to the top-level node to restore all
of the data in the backup, or you may navigate through the directory
structure and select those specific files and/or directories that
you would like to restore. Selecting a directory automatically
selects all of the files and subdirectories contained within it;
however, you can subsequently navigate through those subdirectories
and deselect files that you don't want to restore.
- When you've selected the data that you'd like to restore, click
Next. The wizard shows you a summary
screen for your restore that is very similar to the summary screen
you reviewed during the backup process.
- As with the backup process, clicking the Advanced button enables
you to customize certain aspects of the recovery process, but if you
are happy with the default options, you could simply click
Finish and the restoration would begin.
For now, though, let's take a few minutes to walk through the
advanced options, so click Advanced, as
shown in Figure 5-4.
Figure 5-4: Click the Advanced button.
- The first option, shown in Figure 5-5, enables you to select a
specific restore point, which provides you with a great deal of
flexibility. For example, for whatever reason you may not want to
restore data to its original locations. In the previous lesson you
answered the question, "Where should the data be restored?" This is
your opportunity to provide Microsoft Backup with the answer to that
question. Click Next after you choose one
of the three options:
Restore the data to its original location.
Restore the data to a single folder.
Restore the data to an alternate location.
If you select to restore the data to a single folder or to an
alternate location, a new text box appears enabling you to specify the
appropriate restore point.
Figure 5-5: Select a restore point.
- Select the way you'd like to deal with existing files, as shown
in Figure 5-6. Basically you're telling Microsoft Backup what it
should do if, during restore, it encounters a copy of the same file
already on your hard disk. Click Next
after you choose one of the three options:
Leave the existing files.
Replace existing files if they are older than the backup files.
Replace the existing files.
Figure 5-6: Decide what to do with
existing files.
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- The wizard asks you to specify how Microsoft Backup should deal
with security settings, junction points, and volume mount points, as
shown in Figure 5-7. Click Next after you
select or deselect one or more of the three options:
Restore security settings (selected by default).
Restore junction points but not the folders and file data they
reference.
Preserve existing volume mount points (selected by default).
Figure 5-7: Choose whether to restore
security or special system files.
- The wizard presents a new summary screen, as shown in Figure
5-8, reflecting your updates, but without the Advanced button.
Confirm your settings, and then click Finish
to initiate the restore.
Figure 5-8: Updated summary screen.
That's it --you've just successfully restored data from a backup.
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TIP
Do not wait until disaster strikes to test your data restoration
process. You don't want to be in a critical situation when you
discover that your system isn't working properly! Practice restoring a
full backup as well as single files from a backup on a periodic basis
for two reasons. First, it reassures you that everything is
functioning properly. Second, it ensures that you have the knowledge
necessary to restore a backup if disaster does strike.
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Learned Lessons
Any loss of data should be regarded as a learning experience. If
you had to restore data from backup, something went wrong and
necessitated the restoration, and you should learn what you can from
that situation.
Granted, some disasters are unavoidable. If a tornado comes along and
blows your house down, for example, there probably wasn't much you
could do to prevent it. However, if you take a few minutes after
completing the data restoration process and think about what worked
well and what went wrong, chances are you'll learn something that can
help you protect your data even more effectively in the future.
Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself in the wake of
a data disaster:
What caused the data loss? If you were the victim of a natural
disaster, the answer to this question may be obvious. On the other
hand, if you suffered a hardware or software failure, it might take a
little detective work to get to the bottom of the disaster.
Is there anything that could have been done to prevent the data
loss? Perhaps some control that would have protected your system
wasn't in place.
If there was something that could have been done, should it be
implemented now? If it's cost effective and there's a reasonable
chance the same disaster might recur, you might want to implement
those protective measures to further strengthen your system's defenses
against disaster.
Did the data restoration process proceed smoothly? Were there any
glitches encountered when you attempted to restore your data? Did you
have all of the data that you needed when you completed the
restoration? Did the restoration process succeed without any technical
failures?
Are any revisions to your backup plan necessary? Perhaps you need
to include previously unprotected data in the plan. Would it be wise
to conduct backups on a more frequent basis? Are you keeping backup
media long enough?
In any event, you should pat yourself on the back whenever you
successfully survive a data emergency and your backup plan saves
your critical data!!!
Computer Backups
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