Step 3. The Restore Files dialog is displayed, as shown in Figure 21-13.
Figure 21-13. Restore Files Dialog Box Enabling You to Select the Files and Folders You Want to Restore
Step 4. To restore a file, click Browse for Files, or to restore a complete folder, click Browse for Folders. You see the dialog box shown in Figure
21-14.
Figure 21-14. Browsing for Files or Folders That You Want to Restore
Step 5. Use this dialog to find the files or folders you want to restore, and double-click the desired item or items. You are returned to the Restore Files dialog box with the items you selected added to the list.
Step 6. If you are unsure of the location of an item you want to restore, click the Search button and type in all or part of the filename or folder name to look for. Select the item and click OK to return to the previous dialog box.
Step 7. When you are finished selecting files or folders, click Next.
Step 8. The Where Do You Want to Restore Your Files? page shown in
Figure 21-15 allows you to select a location to save the restored files. Select a location and then click Restore to restore the files.
Figure 21-15. Where Do You Want to Restore Your Files? Page Enabling You to Select a Location to Save the Restored Files
Step 9. If the restore encounters a conflict with a file that already exists on your computer, you receive a dialog box asking how to handle the conflict.
Select the appropriate response.
Step 10. Windows displays a message box that charts the progress of file restoration. When completed, it informs you. Click Finish.
If you are restoring files from a current backup that your computer created recently, you can select the Restore My Files button (refer to previously shown Figure 21-6). Restoring files uses the same process; simply start from Step 2 in the procedure outlined earlier.
Using Wbadmin to Recover Data
You can use the Wbadmin command to recover files and folders that you have previously backed up using this command, as explained earlier in this chapter. Use the following syntax:
wbadmin start recovery -version:<VersionIdentifier> -items:{<VolumesToRecover> | <AppsToRecover> | <FilesOrFoldersToRecover>} -itemtype:{Volume | App | File} [-backupTarget:{<VolumeHostingBackup> | <NetworkShareHostingBackup>}]
In this command:
• The -version:<VersionIdentifier> parameter refers to a version identifier of the backup to recover in MM/DD/YYYY-HH:M format.
• The -items:{<VolumesToRecover> | <AppsToRecover> |
<FilesOrFoldersToRecover>} parameter specifies a comma-delimited list of volumes, applications, files, or folders to be recovered, according to the item type you specify.
• The -itemtype:{Volume | App | File} parameter specifies the type of items to be recovered.
• The -backuptarget parameter specifies the storage location containing the backup that you want to recover.
For example, to recover a backup of volume e: that was taken at 8:00 a.m. on February 28, 2016, use the following command:
wbadmin start recovery -version:02/28/2016-08:00 -itemType:Volume -items:e:
Note
Additional parameters are available; for a complete description of this
command and its available parameters, refer to "Wbadmin Start Recovery" at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc742070(v=ws.10).aspx.
Configuring File History
Chapter 20, “Configuring System Recovery Options,” introduced you to the new File History backup application first included with Windows 8.1 and continued in Windows 10, which enables you to back up files and folders located within your libraries, contacts, favorites, and desktop, as well as create a USB recovery drive. We also looked at the options available in Windows 10 for restoring or recovering your computer when problems prevent it from starting up normally. Now we turn our attention to ensuring that important data on your computer is backed up and that you can recover this data from any type of misadventure, such as improper deletion or
modification, corruption, and so on.
Windows 7 has used the Backup and Restore applet in Control Panel as the central location for performing all types of backup and restore operations.
Although this tool was restored in Windows 10 after its removal in Windows 8.1, Microsoft recommends using the new File History feature that enables an automatic backup of all files located in your libraries, contacts, favorites, and the desktop. Remember that libraries are collections of files and folders that hold documents, music, pictures, and videos in a centralized location that is shared across the network by default. We introduced the concept of libraries in Chapter 14, “Configuring File and Folder Access.”
Microsoft created the File History feature with the following ideas in mind:
• File History facilitates the process of protecting data so that users can set it up and become confident that their personal information is being protected.
• File History supports backing up data to external hard drives, USB thumb drives, and network folders.
• File History reduces the complexity of configuring and running a backup program.
• File History acts as an automatic, silent service that works in the background to protect data without the need for user interaction.
• File History supports laptops and other mobile devices much better than previous backup solutions, working with situations such as changing power states and connection to and disconnection from different networks.
• File History provides an easy-to-do restore experience that facilitates the process of locating, previewing, and restoring files and folders.
Setting Up File History
In Windows 7, a front-end was available called Previous Versions, which allowed you to select any file and revert to a previous version created with the Volume Shadow Copy service. The File History feature in Windows 10 behaves differently. Although File History still uses the Volume Shadow Copy service, it does not directly use the shadow copies, but instead copies files in the users’ directory to a second drive. VSS allows File History to make backups of your files even while you are working on them.
Microsoft recommends that you use a portable hard drive or network location with File History. This ensures that your files and folders are protected
against a catastrophic failure of some type. Use the following procedure to set up File History:
Step 1. From the Start button menu, expand Windows System and select Control Panel > System and Security > File History. As shown in Figure 21-16, the File History applet opens and informs you that File History is off.
If there are files that are encrypted with Encrypting File System (EFS), on a network location, or on a drive that is not formatted with the NTFS file system, these files are not backed up.
Figure 21-16. The File History Applet Displaying File History Is Off
Step 2. Click Turn On. File History asks you whether you want to
recommend the drive to other members of your homegroup. After you choose Yes or No, File History informs you that it is saving copies of your files for the first time.
Step 3. If you want to change the location where your backups are stored, click Select Drive. You receive the Select a File History drive dialog box shown in Figure 21-17. Select the desired external hard drive or USB thumb drive or click Add Network Location to save your files to a location on the network. Then click OK.
Figure 21-17. Selecting a Drive to Be Used by File History
Step 4. If you want to exclude folders in the default locations from being backed up, click Exclude Folders to display the Exclude from File History dialog box. As shown in Figure 21-18, this dialog box initially shows you that no locations are excluded. Click Add to specify a location to be
excluded.
Figure 21-18. Exclude from File History Dialog Box Enabling You to Exclude Specified Folders from Being Backed Up
Step 5. In the Select Folder dialog box, double-click the library in which the folder to be excluded is located, select the desired folder, and then click Select Folder.
Step 6. Repeat as needed to exclude additional folders. When finished, click Save Changes to return to the File History applet.