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howto restore a system ?

dermatz
Level 3
hello

is there a recommended procedure for the restoration of a system ?
we read already the manual, but this is not explained in detail.
we never created it previously to restore a system.

10 REPLIES 10

kkate
Level 5
Accredited
Dear Dermatz,

Procedure is very simple.

1) Create a new job to take a image of your drives i.e. C:, D: etc with default options.
2) After creation of image try to mount in with a drive letter throug BESR software. just right click the image create and mount to verify the data.
3) If you want to restore the system derive or entire system then boot the machine with SRD.
4) Assign IP to the NiC card
5) Map the drive where you have saved the image, or if in USB drive then fine.
6) Select the Image and select the option that are necessary.

Click on Reboot after finish.

Any help more
the best software to restore the System


Regards
KK

dermatz
Level 3
2) why should i try to mount the imagefile - only to inspect ?
4) the machine which im trying to rebuild, has two network interfaces. at one of them, a cable is plugged in. if i now try to forgive the ip-address manually and confirm the dialogue, i get no connection. moreover my input become transferred through other values.
6) why do i need to be concerned about partition size etc. ?
6) what is with additional drivers for for example raid systems ?

NetworkGuy954
Level 3



not to bump kkate

2 - what I think kkate means is, you want to have the image stored somewhere ( I store mine on a external TB USB drive to restore from when I use the recovery CD on the new system/hardware....choose recover...then choose the clone you copied that you want to image on server(via usb drive, mapped network share..etc)

4 - as far as transferring or adding an IP.....when i've recovered to new hardware (which i'm doing now for a migration) the Ip pulls over onto the new adapter...settings and all...I just make sure I dont have it on the lan since I already have an active server....in your case if it's a complete recovery....you should be fine imo.

6 - you need to be concerned about part size because if your old partition is 60 gb on a 120 gb drive and you try to recover to a 120 gb drive....if you don't configure your recovery correct you will only see 60gb total on that new 120 gb drive when you run your recovery...the other 60 will be unallocated and you can't do anything with it at all.....basically you have to run the recovery again and choose to use the entire disk size in KB's...then you'll get your entire drive available on new system

6 - I'm having this issue now, but basically you aren't running a new setup in windows (that asks you to hit F6 I think to add raid adapters) , so you need to create a custom recovery disk and add the raid drivers to that iso custom disk and use that as the recovery disk on the new system.

I'm having an issue now where I can't install the raid controllers on the cloned new hardware after recovery....so I installed the drivers on a custom cd and ran recovery again...all is well ,but when I enable raid on the new hardware the server keeps restarting at post..gets to windows screen then loops....I disabled raid and the server is fine....

I hope this helps....just some things I've come across. Currently recoverying to new hardware ...6 new servers. software is great also.

also if you have the trial you cannot create custom recovery disk....you need to contact your reseller to get you a full trial license to use.

marcogsp
Level 6
dermatz -- I agree for the most part with NetworkGuy954 but I have some interpretations of my own

2 -- I look at mounting the recovery points for inspection as an optional  step, until you become comfortable with the integrity of the imaging process.  However it can be a useful means of determining if a lengthy restore will likely succeed.

6 -- The besides utilizing the available space, there is also a rough calculation for how much space will be needed to restore the image to. 

                              Partition size divided by 6 plus space used on the partition.  i.e. 100 GB drive with 40 GB usage -- 100/6 + 40 = 66.7GB needed for restore

My experience has showed me that a lighter and heavier used space figures will not always fit the above formula.  The formula above is a rough approximation.

6 --  In order to avoid the reboot loop that NetworkGuy 954 mentioned, you may have to use the hidden Restore Anyware option -DED or delete existing drivers.  You access the hidden Restore Anyware options by holding dowm the Shift and / or Ctrl keys when selecting Restore Anyware, Don't use the -PFD or -DED option unless a rebbot loop is present.  Always try the -DED option first before using the -PFD option

http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/293847.htm



NetworkGuy954
Level 3
question

I ran a recovery with the DED option...still having same issue. (I'll try the PFD here shortly)

basically the recovery is flawless..it's only when I enable the embedded raid on the hardward I seem to get the os loop. If I disable raid....server is happy again.

Basically I just want to set up a mirror after the recovery.

kkate
Level 5
Accredited
Hi dermatz,
Its seems you are not clear with my last reponse to your query.
Please try to find article : "BESR iNstallation & Restoration with restore anyware option" posted by me.
Link :
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/besr-installation-restoration-restore-anyware-option

Let me know any queries.

Regards
KK

marcogsp
Level 6
Are you enabling the embedded RAID before or after the restore?  I've seen with Intel controllers with embeded RAID that the drivers are different than a JBOD setup.  Also, the drivers change often so you may want to supply the newest version yourself instead of relying on the SRD supplied drivers.  An "install in place" of the OS can also help rectify the reboot loop problem

NetworkGuy954
Level 3



I am enabling raid after the restore.

As far as changing the drivers.....I created a custom SRD and added the drivers associated with the new system to the SRD, ran the recovery, still had the same issues. Only loops when I enable the embedded raid (HP ML320g5 are the servers I'm migrating my current HP servers over to) ...when I disable embedded raid....the servers are no problem. 

not clear on your term "install in place" ??? 

Thanks marcogsp

 

marcogsp
Level 6
NetworkGuy954 -- An "Install in Place" of the Windows OS is essentially a repair of the Windows installation.  The process actually uses the upgrade process to repair a damaged installation. 
  • Typically, you boot with the OS installation CD, but you must skip the first option to "Repair" which just opens a command line in which you can run repair utilities. 
  • You want to continue on until the installation process detects the "original" installation of Windows.  At that point another "Repair" option is offered.  This "Repair" option deletes a bunch of files and reinstalls them from the CD. 
  • You may be prompted for storage drivers if the correct drives are no integrated in the CD. 
  • A reboot is required, at which point the "Upgrade" process takes over and reinstalls Windows while keeping your data intact.

You will need to reapply hotfixes and security updates since the "Install in Place" will put the OS at the service pack level contained on the installation CD.  It is the tradeoff for getting a system operational again if BESR can not properly handle the restoration.  Sometimes this is the only way to get the HAL corrected for a restoration.

NetworkGuy954
Level 3
I'll give this a shot. I can't be too picky right now. It's either go with the new system how it is now running with no raid 1 (which kinda defeats the purpose of me upgraded to raid compliant systems) or try the install in place.

I'll keep you posted

Thanks again.