Restoring a Windows 2000 WINS Database from Other Backup Sources

ID: Q244810

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

SUMMARY

This article describes how to restore a WINS database from a backup. There may be times when using the Restore Database function within the Microsoft Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) MMC Snap-in may not be sufficient to restore a WINS database. This article assumes you are familiar with gaining access to the WINS Server information using the MMC Snap-in.


MORE INFORMATION

Backing Up the WINS Database

  1. Open the WINS MMC Snap-in interface. Click Start, click Run, type mmc in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. If the WINS server is not displayed in the interface, add it. Click WINS, right-click Add Server, and then type either the NetBIOS name or the IP address of the WINS server you want to backup.


  3. Make sure the green arrow is displayed over the icon to the left of the WINS server name. The green arrow indicates the service is running.


  4. Right-click the server you want to backup, and then click Properties.


  5. On the General tab, type the name of the database backup and the default backup path. Do not use a network drive. Microsoft recommends the following location:
    %Systemroot%\system32\wins


  6. Right-click the WINS server you want to backup, and then click Backup Database. Click OK, and then close the dialog box. Unless you designated a folder under the main folder, WINS automatically creates a Wins_bak folder to contain all the backup files. WINS backs up the database and you are prompted with the following alert:
    The database backup completed successfully.
    If you look at the contents of the Wins_bak folder you see another folder named New. Inside that folder you see the following three files:


    • J500000X (X is the version number)
    • Wins.mdb
    • Wins.pat

  7. If you want WINS to backup the database every time you shut down or restart the WINS server, click to select the Backup database during server shutdown check box.


  8. You need to manually back up the WINS database before the automatic backup schedule initiates. WINS automatically backs up the database every three hours to the backup location you specified earlier in this article.


NOTE: Frequently, network administrators choose to also back up the same files in the WINS backup location to another media such as a tape drive. The J500000X, Wins.mdb and Wins.pat files are placed in the \Wins_bak\New folder. If you want to back up the WINS database to tape, you need to ensure these files are selected or just select the backup folder itself.

Restoring a WINS Database from the Configured Backup Location

To restore the WINS database from the default location, follow these steps:
  1. Stop the WINS service. From the MMC Snap-in, right-click the server, click All Tasks, and then click Stop.


    2. NOTE: When the WINS service has stopped, a red-circle with a white 'X' inside of it is displayed to the left of the server name, where previously there was a green arrow.
  2. Right-click the WINS server that you want to restore, and then click Restore Database.


  3. Browse to the folder where the backup files are located, and then click OK. NOTE: Use the parent folder of the Wins_bak folder.


  4. At this point, the WINS database includes all entries that were in the backup copy of the Wins.mdb file. This information is as current as the last automatic or manual WINS database backup.


  5. You can now jetpack the database to ensure you get a successful compaction without errors.


For additional information about how to jetpack a WINS database, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q145881 How to Use Jetpack.exe to Compact a WINS or DHCP Database
Q172570 Jetpack Error Codes for Windows NT 4.0

Restoring a WINS Database from Other Media

To restore a WINS database from another media source like a tape backup, you must copy the J500000X, Wins.mdb, and Wins.pat files to the folder where the latest backup files are stored. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Identify the location of the backup files so they can be restored accurately.


  2. If the current WINS database is no longer working, you can create the database from scratch. To do this, follow these steps:


    1. Stop the WINS service. In the MMC Snap-in, right-click the server, click All Tasks, and then click Stop.


    2. Delete all the files contained in the \System32\Wins folder except the Wins_bak folder. You can copy the backup files to another folder in case you need them for troubleshooting.


    3. In the MMC Snap-in, right-click the server, click All Tasks, and then click Start.


  3. Copy the J500000X, Wins.mdb, and Wins.pat files from the external media source to the \Wins_bak\New folder. If you are prompted to replace the current files, click Yes to all.


  4. In the MMC Snap-in, right-click the server, click All Tasks, and then click Stop.


    5. NOTE: When the WINS service has stopped, a red-circle with a white 'X' inside of it is displayed to the left of the server name, where previously there was a green arrow.
  5. Right-click the WINS server that you want to restore, and then click Restore Database.


  6. Browse to the folder where the backup files are located, and then click OK. NOTE: Use the parent folder of the Wins_bak folder.


  7. At this point, the WINS database includes all entries that were in the backup copy of the Wins.mdb file. Verify that the database has been restored.


  8. You can now jetpack the database to ensure you get a successful compaction without errors.


For additional information about WINS databases, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q235609 Recovering a WINS Database From Other Backup Sources

Additional query words: WIN2K networking services NBNS

Keywords : kbenv kbnetwork kbtool
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: December 29, 1999
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