Recovering a Windows server to hardware or to a virtual machine

You can recover a Windows server to physical hardware or to an existing virtual machine. The recovered server automatically replaces the original device in the Management Console and backups continue on the new server.

You can also test a Windows server recovery. In a test recovery, the server is recovered but does not replace the original device in the Management Console.

To recover a Windows server to hardware or to an existing virtual machine, do the following:

1. Download the BMR (Bare Metal Restore) Media Creator from the Management Console, and use it to create recovery media. Recovery media is used to boot destination machines and recover Windows servers. See Downloading the BMR Media Creator and Creating recovery media.

   You must create recovery media using a BMR Media Creator that is the same or a later version than the Windows Agent that backed up the server you want to recover. For example, to recover a server from a backup created using Windows Agent 26.1, create recovery media using BMR Media Creator 26.1 or a later version.

2. Obtain a disaster recovery code. See Obtaining a disaster recovery code.

3. Use the recovery media to boot the machine where you want to recover the server, and recover the Windows server. You must enter the disaster recovery code during this process. See Recovering a Windows server.

4. Repair the recovered server's operating system and drivers. See Repairing a recovered server.

Downloading the BMR Media Creator

To download the BMR Media Creator:

1. In the Management Console, go to Server Backup > Devices in the navigation pane.

2. Click the name of a device with the Protected or Needs Attention status. On the device details page, click Disaster Recovery.

3. On the Disaster Recovery page, click Recover to hardware or virtual environment, and then click Next.

   Note: The Recover to hardware or virtual environment option is only available if at least one scheduled backup has run for the device. The option is not available if only the initial backup after installation and unscheduled backups have run.

4. If a message says that a previously-generated Disaster Recovery code is active, click Cancel so you do not interfere with the other recovery. Restart this procedure, and select a different device in Step 2.

5. Click Download BMR Media Creator.

Creating recovery media

You must create recovery media using the BMR Media Creator before you can recover a Windows server from a backup. Recovery media is a USB flash drive or other bootable device with a BMR Agent ISO image file, and is used to boot destination machines and recover Windows servers.

You can use the same recovery media to recover multiple Windows servers. However, you must create separate recovery media for restoring systems with:

• Windows Server 2022, Windows 11, and later versions.

• Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, and Windows 10.

The Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) and the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) must be installed on the system where you run the BMR Media Creator. You can download Windows ADK and Windows PE from Microsoft and install them before running the BMR Media Creator or when you run the BMR Media Creator. For required Windows ADK and Windows PE versions, see BMR Media Creator 26.1 supported platforms, requirements and known issues. For more information about Windows ADK and Windows PE, see documentation from Microsoft.

To create recovery media:

1. If required, install or upgrade the BMR Media Creator on the machine where you want to create recovery media.

   To install the BMR Media Creator, do the following:

   1. Double-click the BMR Media Creator installation kit that was downloaded in Downloading the BMR Media Creator.

   2. If a message states that the BMR Media Creator requires one or more items to be installed, click Install.

   3. On the Welcome page, click Next.

   4. On the Ready to Install the Program page, click Install.

   5. When the installation is completed, click Finish.

   To upgrade the BMR Media Creator, do the following:

   1. Double-click the BMR Media Creator installation kit that was downloaded in Downloading the BMR Media Creator.

   2. In the upgrade confirmation message box, click Yes.

   3. On the Resuming the InstallShield Wizard page, click Next.

   4. When the upgrade is completed, click Finish.

2. Start the BMR Media Creator.

3. On the Creating recovery media page, click the operating system of the devices that you want to recover:

   • Windows Server 2022, Windows 11 and later

   • Windows Server 2019 and earlier, or Windows 10

4. Click Continue.

5. If the Install Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows page appears, you must install Windows ADK before you can create recovery media. Click Install to download the Windows ADK installer from Microsoft, and then install Windows ADK. When the installation is finished, click Continue .

   For more information about Windows ADK, see documentation from Microsoft.

6. If the Install WinPE add-on for Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows page appears, you must install WinPE before you can create recovery media. Click Install to download the WinPE installer from Microsoft, and then install WinPE. When the installation is finished, click Continue .

   For more information about WinPE, see documentation from Microsoft.

7. On the Select Your Media Device page, do one of the following:

   • To create recovery media on a USB flash drive, select USB Flash Drive, and choose a flash drive from the list. To add a flash drive to the list, insert the flash drive into a USB port, and click Refresh when it is ready.

     The flash drive storage capacity must be at least 500 MB.

   • To create a BMR Agent ISO image file, select ISO Image, and specify a location for saving the file.

     After creating a BMR Agent ISO image file, you must burn it to a bootable CD or DVD, attach the ISO file to a Hyper-V or VMware virtual machine, or set up a PXE boot server before you can use it as recovery media.

8. (Optional) To add drivers for specialized hardware, click Add on the Build Bootable Media Image page. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, browse to the location of driver (.inf) files, and then click OK.

9. Click Continue.

10. When a message states that your recovery media is ready, click Close.

Obtaining a disaster recovery code

A disaster recovery code is required for recovering a server using recovery media. The recovery code (also known as a disaster recovery or DR code) can only be used once and is valid for one week.

To obtain a disaster recovery code:

1. In the navigation pane, go to Server Backup > Devices.

2. (Optional) Click the name of the site with the device that you want to recover. If you are using Business view in the Management Console, you do not have to click a site name.

3. Click the name of the device that you want to recover. On the device details page, click Disaster Recovery.

   Note: You can only recover a server with the Protected or Needs Attention status. You cannot recover a server that has the Awaiting first backup or Scheduled for Deletion status.

4. On the Disaster Recovery page, click Recover to hardware or virtual environment, and then click Next.

   Note: You can only recover to hardware or to a virtual machine if at least one scheduled backup has run for the device. The Recover to hardware or virtual environment option is not available if only the initial backup after installation and unscheduled backups have run.

5. If a message says that a previously-generated Disaster Recovery code is active, do one of the following:

   • To cancel the current recovery, click Cancel.

   • To continue the current recovery and cancel the other recovery that is in progress, click Next.

6. Do one of the following:

   • To recover the server, select Recover server after a disaster.

   • To test the server recovery, select Test the disaster recovery process. In a test recovery, the server is recovered but does not replace the original device in the Management Console.

7. Click Generate Code.

   Note: You can also download the BMR Media Creator from this page if you have not yet created recovery media. See Downloading the BMR Media Creator and Creating recovery media.

8. On the Recovery Code page, click Copy to copy the recovery code. Keep the recovery code somewhere safe. You need to enter the code to recover the server, and cannot view it in the Management Console after you close this page.

   The recovery code can only be used once and is valid for one week. The expiry date and time of the DR code appears on the Summary tab of the server's device details page.

9. Click Close.

You can then use the recovery media and disaster recovery code to recover the server to destination hardware or a virtual machine. For detailed instructions, see Recovering a Windows server.