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Matthew_Grainge's avatar
Matthew_Grainge
Level 3
16 years ago

Restore Anywhere Mini Setup stalls at Licencing Modes Screen.

I have attempted a restore anywhere of a Windows 2003 server, the recovery appears to go fine but when the server reboots and performs its mini-setup it gets as far as the Licencing modes screen and stops.
It doesn't appear to of crashed, just stopped during the scripted install.  I can move the mouse but both the back and next buttons are greyed out.

If I ctrl click the recover anywhere option and stop it performing the mini setup the server restores fine and boots fine but I'm not sure if this would work with different hardware or at our DR site.  Has anyone had this issue before or know how to fix it?

Restoring Server 2003 R2 with BESR 8.5 using a 8.52 SRD (I have also tried earlier versions of the 8.5 SRD)

Cheers,
Matt.

Backup and Recovery
BESR 8.x
System Recovery
  • marcogsp's avatar
    marcogsp
    16 years ago
    I just had to restore one of my lab systems so I checked out the option to skip the mini setup.  It appears that keeping this option enabled just adds an answer file that transfers your network settings and some other software settings.  If your network documentation is up to date, you should be able to manually reproduce the settings the answer file would have provided.  It might not be as efficient, but in a DR scenario I would feel confident in deploying the recovered server.

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  • marcogsp's avatar
    marcogsp
    Level 6
    16 years ago
    Was your Windows Server 2003 installation installed from OEM media or was it installed from NFR (Not for Retail) media?  According to:

    http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/294524.htm

    OEM installations can sometimes cause licensing issues after a Restore Anyware reboot.  Text is excerpted below:

    Licensing Issues after Restore

    If the recovery point was taken from a machine with a site license or an individual Windows license, generally there is not an issue. If it was taken from a machine with an OEM license, there may be a licensing issue on boot up. Backup Exec System Recovery and the Restore Anyware Option cannot bypass licensing due to legal issues with the Microsoft and the OEM vendors. Contact vendor or Microsoft for further assistance if issue arises.

    In a Disaster recovery scenario, if the BESR recovery does not boot correctly, then doing an "Install in Place" installation of the server may revive it.

    https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/hp-ml110-built-raid-besr-restore-dissimular-hardware-fails

  • Matthew_Grainge's avatar
    Matthew_Grainge
    Level 3
    16 years ago
    It was installed using a VLK and media. All our other servers are installed using the same key but this is the only server with this particular error.
  • marcogsp's avatar
    marcogsp
    Level 6
    16 years ago
    Since you have a volume license, this does make it more perplexing.  Then again, every server installation is just a little bit different even if cloned from the same image and to the same hardware.  They tend to develop their own idiosyncrasies over time.

    The version 8.53 version of the SRD is now available for download.  There were several issues fixed in this release, so it may be worth trying again with this version.

    I also noticed in this technote:

    http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/311439.htm

    The suggested workaround here is something you have already tried.  I wonder if the way the system is being retargeted for new hardware is causing the mini setup to stall as you are experiencing.  Since the option is available to skip the mini setup during a Restore Anyware, it must not be absolutely necessary for the Restore Anyware routines to complete.  Perhaps the mini-setup is used more as a quality control check of the restoration process.

  • marcogsp's avatar
    marcogsp
    Level 6
    16 years ago
    I just had to restore one of my lab systems so I checked out the option to skip the mini setup.  It appears that keeping this option enabled just adds an answer file that transfers your network settings and some other software settings.  If your network documentation is up to date, you should be able to manually reproduce the settings the answer file would have provided.  It might not be as efficient, but in a DR scenario I would feel confident in deploying the recovered server.
  • Matthew_Grainge's avatar
    Matthew_Grainge
    Level 3
    16 years ago
    Cheers, I'll grab the new ISO and give it a go - otherwise I'll just make a note that the server in question needs to skip the mini setup.

    Thanks again.