AD Forest Recovery - Backing up a full server

Applies To: Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2, Windows Server 2008 and 2008
R2

A full server backup is recommended to prepare for a forest recovery because it can be restored to
different hardware or a different operating system instance. Using Windows Server Backup you can
perform a full backup of your server.

Windows Server Backup

Windows Server Backup is not installed by default. In Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2012
R2, install it by following the steps below.

Note

Please be aware that the steps may vary slightly between Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server
2012 R2.

For steps to install it in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, see Installing Windows
Server Backup.

To install Windows Server Backup

1. Open Server Manager and click Add roles and features.
2. On the Add Roles and Features Wizard click Next.
3. On the Installation Type screen, leave the default Role-based or feature-based installation and
click Next.
4. On the Server Selection screen, click Next.
5. On the Server Roles screen click Next.
 6. On the Features screen, select Windows Server Backup and
click Next

7. Click Install.
8. Once the installation is complete, click Close.
To perform a backup with Windows Server Backup

1. Open Server Manager, click Tools, and then click Windows Server Backup.
o In Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008, click Start, point to Administrative
Tools, and then click Windows Server Backup.
2. If you are prompted, in the User Account Control dialog box, provide Backup Operator
credentials, and then click OK.
3. Click Local Backup.
4. On the Action menu, click Backup once.
5. In the Backup Once Wizard, on the Backup options page, click Different options, and then
click Next.
6. On the Select backup configuration page, click Full server (recommended), and then click Next.
7. On the Specify destination type page, click Local drives or Remote shared folder, and then
click Next.
8. On the Select Backup Destination page, choose the backup location. If you selected local drive
choose a local drive or if you selected remote share choose a network share.
9. On the confirmation screen, click Backup.
 10. Once this has completed click Close.
11. Close Windows Server Backup.

Note

If you get an error stating that no backup storage location is available, you will need to either exclude
one of the volumes that has been selected or add a new volume or remote share. If you get a warning
stating that the selected volume is also included in the list of items to backup, determine whether or not
to remove and click Ok.

Using Wbadmin.exe to backup a windows server

Wbadmin.exe is a command-line utility that enables you to back up and restore your operating system,
volumes, files, folders, and applications from a command prompt.

To perform a full server backup using Wbadmin.exe

 Open an elevated command prompt, type the following command and press ENTER:
Copy
wbadmin start backup -backuptarget:<Drive_letter_to store_backup>: -
include:<Drive_letter_to_include>: