Microsoft KB Archive/301454

HOW TO: Perform a System State Backup with Windows 2000

Q301454

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The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Microsoft Internet Information Services version 5.0

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SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to use the Windows 2000 Backup tool to perform a system state backup. You can use this method to back up and restore critical system data.

[GRAPHIC: Step 1]Requirements

To restore your backup set, you need to know the credentials that you supplied when you promoted the computer to a domain controller with Dcpromo.exe (see section 3, step 3 of this article).

[GRAPHIC: Step 2]Backing Up the System State on a Domain Controller

The following information applies only to domain controllers. You can restore member servers the same way, but in "normal" mode.

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup.
2. Click the Backup tab.
3. Verify that the entry in the Backup media or file name box is correct. The default entry is A:\Backup.bkf. If you want to back up to a different drive, change from drive A to the correct drive letter.
4. Insert the appropriate medium into the backup drive.
5. If there is a plus sign (+) next to My Computer, click the plus sign (+) to expand My Computer.
6. Click to select the System State check box. All of the components to be backed up are listed in the right pane. You cannot individually select each item.
7. Click the drive on which Windows 2000 is installed (the default is drive C).
8. Click to expand the Winnt folder.
9. Click the Sysvol folder.
10. Click either Append this backup to the media or Replace the data on the media with this backup.
11. Click Start Backup.

[GRAPHIC: Step 3]Restoring the System State on a Domain Controller

To restore the system state on a domain controller, first start the computer in Directory Services Restore mode:

1. Click Start, click Shut Down,, click Restart in the What do you want the computer to do box, and then click OK.
2. When your computer restart and you see the Boot menu, press the F8 key.
3. Select Directory Services Restore Mode.

Select the Windows 2000 installation that you are going to recover, and then press ENTER.

At the logon prompt, supply the Directory Services Restore mode credentials that you supplied during the Dcpromo.exe process.

Click OK to acknowledge that you are using Safe mode.

Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup.

Click the Restore tab.

Click the appropriate backup media from which to restore.

Click System State and Winnt\Sysvol.

In the Restore files to box, click Original location.

Click Start Restore.

In the Confirm Restore dialog box, click Advanced.

Click Restore junction points and data, and then click OK.

When the restore process is finished, click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart in the What do you want the computer to do box, and then click OK to restart the computer.

[GRAPHIC: Step 4]Pitfalls

If any of the following conditions is not met, the system state is not restored. Backup attempts to restore the system state, but does not succeed:

• The drive letter on which the %SystemRoot% folder is located must be the same as when you backed it up.
• The %SystemRoot% folder must be the same folder as when you backed it up.
• If the Sysvol or other Active Directory databases were located on another volume, they must exist and have the same drive letters also. The size of the volume does not matter.

NOTE: When you choose to restore a file to an alternate location or to a single file, not all of the system state data is restored. These options are used mostly for boot files or registry keys.

[GRAPHIC: Step 5]Additional Information

When you choose to back up the system state on a domain controller, the following items are included:

• Active Directory (NTDS)
• The boot files
• The COM+ class registration database
• The registry
• The system volume (Sysvol)

When you back up the system state on a non-domain controller, the following items are included:

• The Boot file
• The COM+ class registration database
• The registry

When you back up a member server or domain controller with Certificate Server installed, the following additional item is also included:

• Certificate Server

You can use the Backup tool to back up and restore Active Directory on Windows 2000-based domain controllers. You can perform a backup operation while the domain controller is online.

[GRAPHIC: Step 6]REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q235478 Recovering from Failed System Drive with Non-Default %SystemRoot% Folder

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Last Reviewed: June 15, 2001 © 2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.