Why and How to Restore Windows Server 2008 R2 to Previous Date?

Scenario

“ Windows 7/8/10/XP has a feature called system restore, which can be used to restore computer to previous date. But my computer is Server 2008 R2. Does Windows Server 2008 R2 has a similar feature? If yes, how to restore my Windows Server 2008 R2 to previous date?”

You are right. System Restore is a built-in feature in Windows 7/8/10, which can help you create a restore point. It’s very useful. But it does not exist in Window Server 2008/2012/2016, including its R2 version. However, there’s a similar feature called System state backup that can do the same thing for you.

Why do you need to restore Windows Server 2008 R2 to previous date?

Your computer may encounter dozens of trouble which may cause your computer not working correctly. System setting collapse is one of the reasons why you need to restore Windows Server 2008 R2 to previous date. It may be caused by mis-operation, virus attack, malware, etc.

To make your computer work as normal, you need to restore it with system state backup. To finish the recovery, you need a system state backup or full backup. If your computer is unbooatble, you still need a Windows Server 2008 R2 recovery disk.

How to restore Windows Server 2008 R2 to previous date?

Restoring to previous date is a good idea, because it can help you go back to the good state it was. Well then, how to restore Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 to previous state?

To restore your computer to prior date, you must create a Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 system state backup first. Then you can directly use it when needed. See below and I will walk you through all the detailed steps.

Method 1: Restore Windows Server with WBAdmin

WBAdmin (WBAdmin.exe) is a command-line utility built into Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. It is used to perform backups and restores of operating systems, drive volumes, files, folders, and applications from a command-line interface.

The detailed steps:

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box, right click the command prompt and run as administrator

Step 2. Type a command based on the following syntax and press Enter to execute system state restore.

wbadmin start systemstaterecovery -version:versionIdentifier --backupTarget:Backup Destination location –machine:server name –quiet

Note:

• If you do not know the version and the backup target of your backup, you can type wbadmin get versions to gain this information.

• The backup destination location can be a drive letter, a volume GUID-based path, or a remote shared folder path. If you just have one backup, you can choose not to specify backup target.

• If there are multiple computers backed up to the same location, you can use “-machine” switch to specify the server to be recovered.

• The “-quiet” switch means to run the backup without prompt.

Taking Version identifier at 01:46 on 8/17/2017 and backup target on removable media as an example, you can type the following command in CMD

wbadmin start systemstaterecovery –version 08/17/2017-01:46

Method 2: Restore Server 2008 R2 with Windows Server Backup

Windows Server Backup is a backup and restore software for server 2008/2016/2019 and its R2 version. With it, you can create a system state backup as well as full backup. It can be used to restore your computer to previous good date, even if your computer is unbootable.

Here, I'll take system state recovery as an example to show you the detailed steps. If you want to restore the full backup, you need to boot your computer using bootable media and then restore with system image.

Step 1. Type windows server backup, then select it from the result list.

Step 2. Click Recover at the right panel.

Step 3. On the Getting Started page, select This server and click Next.

Step 4. Select Backup and click Next.

Step 5. Tick System State and click Next.

Step 6. Tick Original location and click Next.

Step 7. Click Recover to start the process. Just Wait until the process is 100% completed and click Finish to exit.

System state backup only contains boot files, active directory, cluster database, the registry and other system files, thus it cannot be counted as a full backup of your computer. At the same time, you cannot fix you computer via system state recovery when it's in a serious status and refuses to boot.

To avoid this problem, you can try to use a Windows Server Backup software make a full server system image and use it to restore when needed.

Method 3: Restore Windows Server with server backup software

Before you restore it, you need to make a system image backup for your Windows Server 2008/2008 R2.

Well then, coming to the point: how to restore Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 to previous date

Step 1. Download AOMEI Backupper Server, install and launch it.

Step 2. Click Restore and Select Task or Select Image File to find the image files.

Step 3. Select the backup image you want to restore and click Next.

Step 4. Confirm the operation summary and click Start Restore.

Tips:

1. If you plan to restore to different hardware with Windows Server Backup, you should tick Enable Universal Restore.

2. AOMEI Backupper also allows you to clone Windows Server 2008 (R2) hard drive to another drive or SSD. Compared with Backup and Restore, Clone is much easier. The operation can be completed in a few steps. More so, you can directly use the cloned hard drive to replace HDD with SSD.

Conclusion

When your computer breaks down, it’s very useful to restore Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 to previous date. It can fix some problems. However, if your computer refuses to boot, you cannot fix it via system state backup and recovery. In this case, only make a full server backup, then use it to restore.

If you want to protect unlimited PCs and servers within your company, you may choose AOMEI Backupper Technician Plus. It offers unlimited billable technical services to clients. It also enables you to copy installation directory for portable version creation.