Exchange Server restore

BackupAssist File Protection, File Archiving and System Protection use the Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS) to back up your Exchange Server while it is running. BackupAssist can use these backups to restore your Exchange Server or individual storage groups (EDB databases).

If you have the Exchange Granular add-on, these backups can also be used to perform an Exchange Granular Restore

The following instructions use a System Protection backup as the example.

To restore an Exchange Server or individual storage groups, follow these steps:

1. Select the Restore tab

The Restore tab has a Home page and a Tools page. The Home page is the default page and the recommended starting point for performing a restore. The Tools page should only be used by experienced users or with the assistance of technical support.

2. Select Exchange Server

This step starts the guided restore process and will take you to the Exchange Server restore screen. There is a Learn more about Restore link at the bottom of the screen.

Show more

This selection is one of multiple restore options available.



3. Select the backup

The Exchange Server restore screen displays the Exchange Server backups created by this installation of BackupAssist. To select the backup that you want to restore from, click on a backup’s name.

Show more



There are tabs above each volume’s backup list that can be used to filter the list of backups shown. Using these filters will help in locating the required backup.

The display tabs available are:

• All - shows all backups available.
• The Last 7 days and Last 30 days tabs - will display the backups within those ranges.
• Custom - allows you to select a specific date range and display backups for that period.

The Discover Backups option allows you to add and restore from backups created by other installations of BackupAssist and backups made by local jobs that have been deleted.

Show more



When you select the Discover Backups button, the Discover Backups screen will appear.

• If you select Show manually added backups, backups from other BackupAssist installations that were added using the + option will be available when you go back to the main restore screen.
• If you select Show backups made by deleted jobs, backups made by deleted backup jobs will be displayed and available when you go back to the main restore screen.
• If you select Show backups made by existing jobs, only backups made by the current list of local backup jobs will be shown. This is the default list you saw before using the Discover Backups option.
• Selecting the plus symbol will open a browse dialog that can be used to locate backups made by other BackupAssist installations and add them to the Discover Backups screen.
• Selecting the cloud symbol will open a dialog from where you can select and configure the cloud destination that you want to restore from. This option allows you to restore from a backup created on another machine or a deleted job.
• Selecting Delete, removes any selected backups that were added using the + option.

Selecting only one of these options means only those backups will be shown when you go back to the main restore screen. Combinations of these 3 options can be selected to get the set of backups that you want.

4. Select the data

When you select the backup that you want to restore from, the Integrated Restore Console will open. Use the console to select the Exchange Server or the Exchange databases that you want to restore.

Show more

What to restore
• Use the left pane to locate and select the data that you want to restore.
• The right pane will display the contents of the folder selected in the left pane.
5. Select the destination

Use the Integrated Restore Console to select the location that you want to restore the data to. You can also use this step to select other restore options like the data overwrite rules.

Show more

Where to restore

Follow these steps to select the restore destination and restore options:

1. Under Where to restore select To original location or To Specific location.
2. Use the Browse button to locate and select the restore destination.
3. Use the drop down box to set the overwrite rules. The overwrite rules will apply if the files being restored encounter files with the same name in the restore destination.
• Overwrite existing files: the restored files will overwrite files in the restore destination.
• Do not overwrite existing files: the restored files will not overwrite files in the restore destination. This means the files will not be restored.
• Only overwrite older files: if a source file has changed since the backup was made it will not be overwritten.
4. Review the Restore NTFS security attributes option

If you select this option, the NTFS security attributes the file had when it was backed up will be retained when the file is restored. The NTFS security attributes can be viewed in the Security tab on the file’s Properties

5. Review the Take ownership of restored files option

Selecting the Take ownership of restored files tick box will give the current user ownership of the restored files. The user is shown to the right of the text box description.

6. Start the restore

When you select the Restore button, the restore process will begin. The Integrated Restore Console will display information about the restore job and provide status updates as the job runs.

Show more



List all processed files and folders

Selecting this link will open notepad and display a list of the files restored, including their full path.

BitLocker Encrypted backups

If your backup is encrypted, you will be prompted for the encryption password when the restore job accesses the backup. You can also use the encryption key to unlock an encrypted drive, by connecting the USB flash drive. BackupAssist will use the key to unlock the drive you are restoring from. You will not be prompted to do anything other than the normal restore steps.

Note: It is important that you keep a copy of your password in a safe place, as we cannot assist you with opening password-encrypted files if your password is lost or forgotten.

7. Select Done

Once the restore has finished, selecting Done will return you to the main UI.

Your Exchange Server restore has now been completed.