Restoring individual files/folders from a VM backup
I want to restore individual files/folders from my VM backup, but when I expand the machine, I don't see the individual files/folders.
This scenario is often encountered by users and you got to check two things.
1) The file GRT is enabled in the VM backup job.
This is enabled by default, but it is worthwhile checking it.
2) Ensure that the machine is expanded in the right place.
Let's say you have this set-up.
t410-esx-cw is the ESX host for VM “MEM01 2008 x64” which has a Netbios/DNS name of “2K8MEM01.MACVM.LOCAL”
After you run a backup of t410-esx-cw, you get this
Notice that now the VM “2K8MEM01.MACVM.LOCAL” is added to the list of servers.
If host t410-esx-cw is selected and you expand VM “MEM01 2008 x64”, you would see the vmdk's for VM “MEM01 2008 x64”, but you would not be able to see the individual files/folders.
If on the other hand, you select “2K8MEM01.MACVM.LOCAL” from the list of servers, then you would see the list of individual files/folders.
You can now select the individual files/folders for restore.
Although this article uses VMware as an example, the process is the same for Hyper-V VM's. To restore individual files/folders, you got to select and expand the VM's Netbios/DNS name. Expanding the host will not give you the list of files/folders.
Likewise, selecting and expanding the VM's Netbios/DNS name to restore individual files/folders are applicable for earlier versions of BE. In your restore selection screen, you would be able to see both the VM's Netbios/DNS name and the VM host. You should expand the VM's Netbios/DNS name, and not the VM host.
Another thing to note: If you are restoring to tape, the backup is staged to disk before the actual restore starts. You either have to ensure you have enough disk space for this staging or duplicate the backup set to disk before proceeding with the restore.