Recovering a computer with Simplified Disaster Recovery

Last published : Apr 02, 2026
You can use the Simplified Disaster Recovery Recover This Computer Wizard to run a local recovery or a remote recovery of a Backup Exec server or a Windows computer.
You can perform a local recovery if all of the following conditions are met:
  • You want to restore a Backup Exec server or a Windows computer.
  • The backup data for the computer is located on the devices that you can locally attach to the computer on which you run the Recover This Computer Wizard.
  • You can provide the disaster recovery information file for the Backup Exec server or the Windows computer that you want to recover.
    Note: If the computer that you want to recover was backed up to a tape device, to a deduplication storage, or to a virtual disk, then SDR was unable to store the disaster recovery information file with the backup sets. You must provide the path to the default location or to the alternate location for the disaster recovery information file when theRecover This Computer Wizardprompts you. If you cannot provide a disaster recovery information file, then you must perform a manual disaster recovery. Refer to the following sections for more information about how to perform manual disaster recovery: SeePerforming manual disaster recovery of a local Backup Exec server on a Windows computer. SeePerforming manual disaster recovery of a remote Backup Exec server or remote agent on a Windows computer. Note: If you are restoring data on the same computer and if you do not select theErase hard disks and recreate the volume layout shown aboveoption, the recovery process does not restore the WindowsApps folders on operating systems that run Windows 8 or later. However, the restore job is successful. Microsoft recommends to restore the WindowsApps folders using Device Reset on the Settings panel. The WindowsApps folders that are ignored during restore could be the following: The folder pointed byHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\PackageRoot The folder pointed byHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\PackageRepositoryRoot %SystemRoot%\InfusedApps
You can perform a remote recovery if all of the following conditions are met:
  • You want to restore a Backup Exec server or a Windows computer.
  • The backup data for the computer is located on the devices that are attached to a remote Backup Exec server
  • You have network access to the remote Backup Exec server.
Before you start, review the steps for preparing to recover.
See Preparing to recover from a disaster by using Simplified Disaster Recovery.
During recovery operations, you can recover the computer from the most recent backup. Or, you can recover to a previous point-in-time backup.
The Recover This Computer Wizard supports the recovery of computers with encrypted backup sets. If the Simplified Disaster Recovery (SDR) backups are encrypted during backup, the wizard prompts you for the pass phrase of each encrypted backup set that is required to complete the recovery.
See Encryption key management.
To restore data by using the Recover This Computer Wizard, the following items are required:
  • The Simplified Disaster Recovery disk image, which must be the same version of Backup Exec as the Backup Exec server.
  • If the computer that you want to recover was backed up to a tape device, deduplication storage, or to a virtual disk, then the disaster recovery information file is not stored with the backup sets. Instead, you must provide the path to the default location or to the alternate location when the Recover This Computer Wizard prompts you. The default location is: C:\< Backup Exec install path\>\Backup Exec\sdr\Data. If the file is unavailable, you cannot recover the computer with SDR.
  • The backup set that contains all of the critical system components for the computer that you want to restore.
  • The boot drive on the computer that you want to recover must have from 3 GB to 5 GB of free space, depending on the operating system and configuration.
    Note: If a blank screen appears and the computer does not restart after you run SDR, ensure that the boot drive has the necessary amount of free space. Then, restart the computer again.
  • The computer that you want to recover must have an amount of RAM that is equal to or greater than the minimum that the restored operating system requires.
  • The computer that you want to recover must have disks with enough free space to contain the data that you restore from the backup of critical volumes. A volume is considered critical if it is required for the computer to start successfully.
  • If you recover a Windows computer that has BitLocker encryption enabled, you must turn on BitLocker encryption after the restore. See your Microsoft documentation for more information on BitLocker drive encryption.
  • If the computer that you want to recover contains a RAID setup, you may be required to configure the RAID before you start it with the SDR disk. Use the computer manufacturer's RAID software to configure the RAID system.
  • If appropriate, review the following recovery notes:
To recover a computer by using the Recover This Computer Wizard
  1. Place the startup Simplified Disaster Recovery Disk in the CD drive or DVD drive of the computer that you want to recover, and then start the computer.
  2. On the End User License Agreement screen, click Accept.
  3. On the Simplified Disaster Recovery Welcome screen, click Recover This Computer.
  4. In the left pane, click Network, and then clickConfigure Network Connection Settings.
  5. Select the appropriate network adapter configuration, and then click OK.
    Note: If required, set the correct local time zone and local time using Windows PowerShell.
  6. Do one of the following:
    If the backup data for this computer is located on the devices that are attached to a remote Backup Exec server (remote recovery) Do the following in the order listed\:
    - Click The data is located on devices attached to a remote Backup Exec server .
    - Enter the name and domain of the remote Backup Exec server where the backup data is located, and the appropriate administrator or administrator-equivalent credentials.
    - (Optional) To configure network adapter settings, click Configure network adapter settings , and then do one of the following: To assign a static IP address for each detected network adapter, select the appropriate options, and then click OK . To configure an IPv6 network controller, click Configure IPv6 , select the appropriate options, and then click OK .
    - (Optional) To load network adapter drivers, click Load network adapter drivers . Then, click Install Driver for any inactive network controller that the wizard detects. Navigate to the device that contains the network controller driver, and then click Open . Select the driver, and then click Open again.
    - Click Next .
    If the computer that you want to recover was backed up to locally attached devices such as tape drives, robotic libraries, disk storage devices, or disk cartridge devices (local recovery) Do the following in the order listed\:
    - Click The data is located on devices locally attached to this computer .
    - Enter the appropriate administrator or administrator-equivalent credentials when prompted, and then click Next .
  7. Select the disaster recovery information file that you want to use, and then click Next.
    Note: Backup Exec by default supports the latest three full SDR backup chains that are required for system recovery using SDR. Each backup chain includes one full backup set, its dependent incremental and differential backups, and their duplicate backup sets.
  8. Select the backup sets that you want to use to recover the computer, and then click Next.
  9. Select the storage device that contains the backup data for the computer, and then click Next.
  10. Do any of the following:
    To use the volume layout as shown Click Next .
    To view the disk geometry as it presently exists, or to view a graphical representation of proposed changes Click Preview .
    To install required SCSI or RAID controller drivers Do the following in the order listed\:
    - Click Load Storage controller drivers .
    - Click Install Driver for any inactive network controller that the wizard detects.
    - Navigate to the device that contains the network controller driver, and then click Open .
    - Select the driver, and then click Open again.
    To automatically create a volume layout on the available hard disks if mismatched volumes appear in the simplified volume layout view Select Erase hard disks and recreate the volume layout shown above . Existing data on these disks will be lost.
    To change volume sizes or other disk-related operations Click Advanced Disk Configuration .
    See Advanced Disk Configuration on the Recover This Computer Wizard .
  11. Review the Recovery Summary and click Backto make any changes, or clickRecovery to start the recovery process.
  12. If you recover a Backup Exec server that runs Backup Exec 15 or later, select the appropriate database encryption key and then click Next.
    Note: Backup Exec 15 and later requires a database encryption key to access the Backup Exec Database. If you proceed without entering the database encryption key on this screen, you are prompted to enter the key when you restart Backup Exec.
  13. When the recovery is complete, do any or all of the following:
    To troubleshoot any issues that occurred during the hardware discovery phase Click View Hardware Discovery log .
    To troubleshoot any issues that occurred during the recovery process Click View Recover This Computer log .
    To restart this computer after you click Finish Select Restart this computer .
    To complete the recovery process and close the wizard Click Finish .
    Note: If the recovered computer contains multiple hard disks, ensure that the computer's BIOS is configured to start the computer from the hard disk that contains the Windows operating system. On many computers, the BIOS menu can be accessed by pressing F2 or DEL on the computer keyboard.