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Restoring Windows System Backup

With Windows System Backup, you typically restore a .vhd image first, then choose a method based on whether you need individual files or a full system recovery.

Available methods

Mounting a .vhd file

After restoring the .vhd file to local storage, you can mount it as a separate disk using Disk Management in Windows.

This allows you to:

  • browse backup contents
  • copy specific files and folders
  • unmount the disk after completion

Restore through Windows System Image Recovery

After restoring the .vhd file, open Windows Recovery and choose System Image Recovery. Follow the wizard to recover the system from the image.

Restore using wbadmin

For non-GUI scenarios, you can use:

  • wbadmin start recovery
  • wbadmin start sysrecovery

Note

The exact wbadmin parameters depend on your Windows version and how the backup image was created.

Best practices

  • Test recovery in an isolated environment first whenever possible.
  • Ensure the target machine has access to the required storage devices.
  • After recovery, validate boot configuration, critical services, and application data.