Archive:BSR SW en

From SEPsesam
Revision as of 11:34, 20 May 2021 by Sta (talk | contribs) (Undo revision 180254 by Sta (talk))

Template:Copyright SEP AG en


Introduction

With SEP sesam BSR-SW it is possible to restore the Windows system after a complete breakdown. SEP sesam Client software has to be installed on the corresponding system. In order to recover a system with SEP sesam BSR-SW an all backup including VSS writer has to be executed on a regular basis.

To obtain a bootable ISO image, the SEP sesam ISO image builder has to be downloaded from SEP Download Center. This builder can be used to create a Windows 7 x86 bootable iso image.

The build computer for the ISO image has to be a Windows computer of any kind with internet access. During the build process a Win7 PE is downloaded by the builder which may take several minutes or even hours, depending on the internet connection.

When recovering a system with SEP sesam BSR-SW it has to be booted from the SEP sesam BSR-SW medium which has been created before (see Build the bootable ISO image) for disaster recovery. Then the original partitions have to be manually created. Afterwards the full backup can be restored and finally the boot sector is created.

Important information:
  • This BSR software doesn't work for a recovery of a SEP sesam server itself
  • SEP sesam BSR-SW can only operate correctly if the recovery client uses the same Hardware as the Backup client because there is no dissimilar hardware wizard.

Build the bootable ISO image

  • Download the latest SEP sesam BSR-SW builder zip file (sesam_BSR_SW_build_X.X.X.X.zip) from SEP Download Center.
  • Extract the zip file to a local folder e.g. D:\BSR-SW
  • The extracted folder contains an executable called winbuilder.exe. Double click the winbuilder.exe. A console like GUI opens

WinbuilderBSR SW 442.png

  • Type auto in the console and hit enter
  • Wait until the build of the ISO file is finished. Depending on the internet connection this may take several minutes or even hours, since a 2.4 GB file is downloaded during the build process
  • The build is finished if a line like the following is shown
16:55:01 [COMPLETED] Project build was concluded in 1 minute and 10 seconds.
  • The bootable ISO file is located in the folder output of the project and is called bootdisk.iso
  • Either burn the ISO image to a DVD, create a bootable USB stick, or save the file to a network share

In case of a disaster this ISO image can be used to execute a disaster recovery.

System requirements

  • Supported Versions
  • SEP sesam Server and Client from version 4.0 or newer
  • SEP sesam BSR-SW Download
  • Drivers for raid- and network controller for Win x86 (32 Bit) on a flash drive (USB-Drive) or a network share

Setting up the backup

For the backup a normal all backup of the corresponding client has to be set up. If just the system partition should be backed up the other partitions can be excluded.

Windows all backup job.jpg

Disaster Restore

SEP sesam Client configuration

  • Boot the corresponding system from the boot medium created at Build the bootable ISO image.
  • After the system start several processes are executed. Please wait until all processes are finished.
  • Double click the installSesam link on the desktop, to configure the SEP sesam client
  • At the end a text file is opened up showing the hostname, IP configuration, and disk info of the client, indicating that the SEP sesam client configuration is finished. Every SEP sesam server has now unrestricted access to the SEP sesam client.

Client Partition configuration

Note

* There need to be the identical number of partitions as on the original system.
* Each of them needs to have the same format (NTFS respectively FAT32) as before and needs to be at least the same size as before.
* If a bigger hard disk was attached the size of the partitions can also be increased.

All partitions (including the System Reserved volume) have to be created manually, since a restore to an empty harddisk is not supported. This can be done by using the Disk Management. Use the same drive letters for the partitions as before.

Hint:

Independent from the number of partitions on your hard drive you always have to set the boot partition as the active partition. If you do not set the partition as active, you won't be able boot Windows even if you rebuilt the boot sector.

Partitioning with System Reserved

  • Open the Disk Management using the Desktop link in the BSR-SW.
  • Start with the creation of the System Reserved volume with a new simple volume

CreateSystemReserved1BSR SW 442.png

  • Select a minimal volume size of 100 MB for Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 (R2). For Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 (R2) use at least 350 MB. For the exact value see the backup protocol of the client.
  • Do not assign a drive letter

CreateSystemReserved2BSR SW 442.png

  • Use the volume label System Reserved on english language systems or System-Reserviert for german systems.
  • Deselect the Perform a quick format option

CreateSystemReserved3BSR SW 442.png

  • Right-click to the System Reserved volume and mark partition as active

CreateSystemReserved4BSR SW 442.png

  • Create one partition for each partition the system had before and assign the same drive letter it had before. Here you can use Perform a quick format option

Partitioning without System Reserved

  • Open the Disk Management using the Desktop link in the BSR-SW.
  • Start with the creation of the C: volume

CreateSystemReserved1BSR SW 442.png

  • Select the same size as the C: partition had before. For the exact value see the backup protocol of the client.
  • Assign a drive letter C

CreateSystemReserved2aBSR SW 442.png

  • Use no label
  • Deselect the Perform a quick format option

CreateSystemReserved3aBSR SW 442.png

  • Right-click to the C volume and mark partition as active

CreateSystemReserved4aBSR SW 442.png

  • Create one partition for each partition the system had before and assign the same drive letter it had before. Here you can use Perform a quick format option

SEP sesam Server adjustment

On the SEP sesam server add the SEP sesam client using the IP address (not the client name), which is shown in the readmeClientInfo.txt file. Select Windows as platform. Note that the operating system is automatically obtained, so after inserting the IP address and the platform click OK to add the client.

AddClientBSR SW 442.png

  • Insert the IP address of the SEP sesam server as interface to the SEP sesam server client

AddIPInterfaceBSR SW 442a.png

  • In the ...\SEPsesam\var\ini\stpd.ini change the STPD_USER to
STPD_USER=_TMP_

Restore with System Reserved

  • If a the target system has a System Reserved volume two restores have to be executed.
  • The first one is the restore of the System Reserved volume.
    • Execute a selective restore and select the System Reserved volume for restore. It should look similar to this Volume{b39eb7f2-da61-11e3-80b1-806e6f6e6963} with a different GUID

Restore1BSR SW 442.png

    • Use the IP address of the SEP sesam server as interface and the IP address of the client as target node for the restore.
    • Use the System Reserved volume of the client system by browsing the client

Restore2BSR SW 442.png

  • Use the IP address of the SEP sesam server as interface and the IP address of the client as target node for the restore.

Restore3BSR SW 442.png

  • The second one is the restore of all remaining partitions at once.
  • Use the IP address of the SEP sesam server as interface and the IP address of the client as target node for the restore.

RestoreBSR SW 442.png

Restore without System Reserved

  • If a the target system has no System Reserved volume the restore can be executed at once.
  • Execute a full restore
  • Use the IP address of the SEP sesam server as interface and the IP address of the client as target node for the restore.

RestoreBSR SW 442.png

Client adjustment after restore

In newer Windows systems the data required for boot are saved on a hidden partition the so called System Reserved volume. To make these systems bootable the following steps are necessary after restore:

  • Open a command line and start the program bootrec.exe.

Bootrec bsr light de.jpg


Since the boot manager is located in the System Reserved volume it might be necessary to rebuilt it. In the following section the options of bootrec are described.

Necessary commands for recovering the boot sector of the operating system W2003

  • change to the restored directory C:\WINDOWS\system32\
  • type in bootrec /fixmbr
  • reboot the system

Necessary commands for recovering the boot sector of the operating system W2008 and Windows 7

bootrec /FixMbr 

The /FixMbr option writes a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-compatible MBR to the system partition. This option does not overwrite the existing partition table. Use this option when you must resolve MBR corruption issues, or when you have to remove non-standard code from the MBR.

bootrec /FixBoot 

The /FixBoot option writes a new boot sector to the system partition by using a boot sector that is compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Use this option if one of the following conditions is true:

  • The boot sector has been replaced with a non-standard Windows Vista or Windows 7 boot sector.
  • The boot sector is damaged.
  • An earlier Windows operating system has been installed after Windows Vista or Windows 7 was installed. In this scenario, the computer starts by using Windows NT Loader (NTLDR) instead of Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe).
bootrec /ScanOs 

The /ScanOs option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option displays the entries that are currently not in the BCD store. Use this option when there are Windows Vista or Windows 7 installations that the Boot Manager menu does not list.

bootrec /RebuildBcd 

The /RebuildBcd option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option lets you select the installations that you want to add to the BCD store. Use this option when you must completely rebuild the BCD.

Note:

If rebuilding the BCD does not resolve the startup issue, you can export and delete the BCD, and then run this option again. By doing this, you make sure that the BCD is completely rebuilt. To do this, type the following commands at the Windows PE command prompt:

 bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
 c:
 cd boot
 attrib bcd -s -h -r
 ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
 bootrec /RebuildBcd

Rebuilding the boot manager with StartRep.exe

If rebuilding the BCD does not help:

  • boot from your Windows Server 2008 [R2] disk
  • choose "Repair" and open a command prompt
  • Switch to the Path:
X:\sources\recovery

and execute the Program:

StartRep.exe

After executing and finishing this, reboot your system.

Troubleshooting

  • System will not start after restore
    • Check the C:\ partition for the flag 'Active partition'.
  • After the restore you may be prompted to activate Windows again for example if the hard disk was changed.
  • If the Eject CD/DVD option is selected at shutdown, all optical drives will be ejected if there are two or more optical drives attached to the machine.
  • If a message appears that the BSR-SW image could not be started, please reboot the Computer. If the message appears furthermore, please check if the ISO image was downloaded correctly.
  • The input of primary DNS suffixes in PE Network Manager with more than 15 characters is not possible at the moment.
    • If you want to use such a long primary DNS suffix you can change this with the following command:
      reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\Parameters /v "NV Domain" /d "domainname.tld" /f
    • To add it to the DNS suffix search list you can use this command:
      reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\Parameters /v "SearchList" /d "domainname.tld" /f
      where domainname.tld is the DNS domain to add.
  • If you need remote assistance on the SEP sesam BSR-SW, the Team Viewer version 5 is an appropriate tool.