To restore System State data

1. Open Backup
2. Click the Restore tab, and then in Click to select the check box for any drive, folder, or file that you want to restore, click the box next to System State. This will restore the System State data along with any other data you have selected for the current restore operation.

 Caution

• If you restore the System State data, and you do not designate an alternate location for the restored data, Backup will erase the System State data that is currently on your computer and replace it with the System State data you are restoring. Also, if you restore the System State data to an alternate location, only the registry files, SYSVOL directory files, Cluster database information files, and system boot files are restored to the alternate location. The Active Directory directory services database, Certificate Services database, and COM+ Class Registration database are not restored if you designate an alternate location.

 Note

• You must be an administrator or a backup operator to restore files and folders. For more information on permissions or user rights, see Related Topics.
• To start Backup, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup.
• If you are restoring data from a tape, you should update the on-disk catalog for the tape before you perform the restore operation. For more information on updating a catalog, see Related Topics.
• You can also use the Restore wizard to restore the System State data by clicking Restore Wizard on the Tools menu.
• If you are restoring the System State data to a domain controller, you must choose whether you want to perform an authoritative restore or a nonauthoritative restore The default method of restoring the System State data to a domain controller is nonauthoritative. In this mode, any component of the System State that is replicated with another domain controller, such as the Active Directory directory service or the File Replication service (including the SYSVOL directory), will be brought up to date by replication after you restore the data. For example, if the last backup was performed a week ago, and the System State is restored using the default restore method (nonauthoritative), any changes made subsequent to the backup operation will be replicated from the domain controllers.

  In some cases, you may not want to replicate the changes that have been made subsequent to the last backup operation. In other words, there may be instances where you want all replicas to have the same state as the backed up data. To achieve this state, you must perform an authoritative restore.

  For example, you have to perform an authoritative restore if you inadvertently delete users, groups, or organizational units from the Active Directory directory service, and you want to restore the system so that the deleted objects are recovered and replicated. To do this, you need to run the Ntdsutil utility after you have restored the data but before you restart the domain controller. This utility lets you mark objects as authoritative, which will ensure that any replicated or distributed data that you have restored is properly replicated or distributed throughout your organization. The Ntdsutil command line utility can be run from the command prompt. Help for the Ntdsutil utility can also be found at the command prompt by typing ntdsutil /?.

• In order to restore the System State data on a domain controller, you must first start your computer in a special safe mode called directory services restore mode. This will allow you to restore the SYSVOL directory and Active Directory directory service database. For more information on starting your computer in safe mode, see Related Topics.
• You can only restore the System State data on a local computer You cannot restore the System State data on a remote computer

Restoring files and folders

System State data

Restore System State data

Set restore options

Restore files from a file or a tape

Restore files to a Microsoft Exchange Server

Authoritative restore

Set advanced restore options

Safe mode startup options

Update a catalog

Permissions and user rights