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Michael Mirosnichenko
Michael Mirosnichenko

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Recovering Data From Windows Server 2019: Backup, Restore, Reset

Important data can be lost, or the operating system may crash due to a number of reasons, for example, a system update, a virus attack careless removal of a file, system errors, human faults, cleaning the Recycle Bin, disk formatting etc. If you face one of these problems, don’t worry: this video will help you restore your server back to normal and recover the lost data.

When files are deleted in Windows Server OS, they don’t disappear from the hard disk – they can still be restored from the Recycle Bin, if they were not removed without using the Recycle Bin. Even if the files were deleted permanently from the Recycle Bin, there is still a good chance to recover them. In Windows, files never disappear; the space they take up on the hard disk (or any other media) is then marked as free for writing new data there.

You can either recover the information or restore operability and previous state of the operating system from a backup. If there is no backup to rely on, use a specialized recovery tool.

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How to set up and configure backup for Windows Server

Backing up Windows Server is an important part of everyday server management. Backup copies enable recovery after crashes when data may be lost.

By default, the backup feature is not installed for the server version of Windows.

To add it, open the Start menu, find and launch Server Manager.

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In the Manager, click Add roles and features.

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Click Next

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Don’t change the installation type –

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In the server choosing tab, no changes.

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Move on to the elements. Scan the list for Windows Server Backup, check its box and click Next,

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and then Install.

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When the installation is over, click Close.

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Now that Windows Server Backup has been installed successfully,

you can access its backup features.

How to create a backup of Windows Server

In order to create a backup or configure scheduled backup, open Server Manager – Tools – Windows Server Backup.

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For quick launch, type wbadmin.msc in the search field.

The following features are available:

Backup Schedule, Backup Once, Recover, and Configure Performance Settings.

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Configure scheduled backup in Windows Server

To configure automatic backup on schedule, open Backup Schedule.

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When selecting backup configuration, specify backup type – Full server (back up all server data, applications and system state) or Custom (if you want to select a certain volume or files to be backed up).

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Choose backup time and how often you want it to run.

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Select destination for backups, and one of the options is to save them to a network folder.

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When choosing this specific option, you can see a note that you will only have one backup at a time.

Give the network path and click Next.

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After that, you’ll be asked to give your account details to enable the scheduled backup.

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Finish.

If you only need one copy, select Backup Once.

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Select Custom if you want to choose a specific folder or files.

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Add items to be backed up.

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Specify where the backup file should be stored, and hit Backup to start.

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How to restore Windows Server from backup
Now that the backup is ready, let’s explore the scenario when you need to restore Windows Server.

In different cases with the operating system crashing, having a backup will save you a lot of time if compared with having to reinstall and reconfigure the whole thing.

In order to restore Windows Server to a previous state, open Server Manager –

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