How to Restore a Vista Backup Image

In business-oriented editions of Windows Vista, the Backup and Restore Center can back up an entire hard drive.

To help increase the reliability of computers they are installed on, Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium include a built-in backup utility that can be used to create backup images of important files and folders. In Windows Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate, you can back up the whole computer. You can use the Windows Vista Backup and Restore Center to restore certain files if they have been deleted or changed accidentally, or to restore the whole hard drive in the event of a severe problem.

Things You'll Need

• Windows Vista installation DVD (complete PC restore only)

Instructions

Restoring Files and Folders from a Backup Image

1. Click the Windows Orb ("Start" button). Type "backup" in the Search box at the bottom of the "Start" menu, then click "Backup and Restore Center" on the list of search results.

2. Click the "Restore Files" button.

3. Select a radio button to indicate whether you would like to restore files from the most recent backup operation or a previous one, then click "Next."

4. Click the "Add Files" button to restore individual files from a backup, or the "Add Folders" button to restore entire folders. A new window will open. This window appears to display the contents of your hard drive, but actually displays the contents of the backup image. Note that each file and folder has a date below it according to when the backup was created.

5. Click the file or folder that you want to restore, then click the "Add" button. Repeat this process until each item that you want to restore is shown on the list. Click "Next."

6. Click "In the original location" to your backed-up files and folders to overwrite newer versions that may currently exist on your computer, or "In the following location" to select a different folder and decide what to replace on your own.

7. Click "Start Restore," then click "Finish" when the process is complete.

Restoring a Complete PC from a Backup Image

1. Restart your computer with the Windows Vista installation DVD inserted and allow your computer to boot from the DVD.

   Note: Many computers built by major manufacturers have recovery partitions which can be used to boot the system for recovery. If your system has a recovery partition, tap "F8" while the computer boots, then select "Repair your computer" from the advanced boot options menu. No installation DVD is necessary.

2. Select the Windows installation that you want to repair. In most cases, there may only be one on the list. If you created your PC backup on DVDs rather than a second hard drive, insert the first backup DVD now.

3. Click the "Windows Complete PC Restore" link. Windows searches the computer for all backup images that are available to choose from. If multiple backups are found, Windows automatically recommends the one that is most recent. To use a backup file from an earlier date, click "Restore a different backup." Otherwise, click "Next." Windows displays a confirmation screen showing the source and date of the backup image to be used, and the destination disk.

4. Click "Format and repartition disks" to restore your primary operating system hard drive to the exact state that it was in when the backup was originally created, then click "Finish." Note that the process of restoring your PC to an earlier date will cause any information currently stored on the hard drive to be deleted.

5. Click the confirmation check box to affirm that you understand your existing data will be deleted to make room for the backup image, then click "OK." When the restore process is complete, the computer will restart.

References

• BizTech: How to Back Up and Restore in Windows Vista