Archive:BSR SW 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: |
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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
- 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.
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
- 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
- Use the volume label System Reserved on english language systems or System-Reserviert for german systems.
- Deselect the Perform a quick format option
- Right-click to the System Reserved volume and mark partition as active
- 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
- 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
- Use no label
- Deselect the Perform a quick format option
- Right-click to the C volume and mark partition as active
- 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.
- Insert the IP address of the SEP sesam server as interface to the SEP sesam server client
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Use the IP address of the SEP sesam server as interface and the IP address of the client as target node for the restore.
- 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.
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.
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.
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'.
- Check the
- 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 want to use such a long primary DNS suffix you can change this with the following command:
- If you need remote assistance on the SEP sesam BSR-SW, the Team Viewer version 5 is an appropriate tool.