XADM: Misleading Dialog During Restore Using NTBackup

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0
• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.0

SUMMARY

When you restore a Microsoft Exchange Server on-line backup using the Windows NT NTBackup program, and you choose to restore both the Directory and the Information Store, you will be presented with a Restore Information dialog box that can be misleading.

MORE INFORMATION

The Restore Information dialog box allows you to choose various options. If you are restoring both the Microsoft Exchange Directory and Information Store, you can scroll down to get the restore information for the Information Store and you can choose to restore the Information Store to another server.

When the Restore Information dialog first appears, the Destination Server field cannot be changed. This is the Directory restore information. If you scroll down, you will then be able to change the Destination Server field. This is the Information Store restore information. This, in effect, allows you to restore the backup to restore the Directory to the original server (which is the only place a Directory can be restored), and to restore the Information Store to another server. If you don't look carefully at this dialog box, you can be misled into thinking that you can restore both the Directory and the Information Store to a different server, which is not the case.