Repair, Recovery, and Restore

Restoring the Remote Storage and Removable Storage Databases

There are two reasons for restoring the Remote Storage database, each with its own restore procedure. Use the appropriate method to restore the Remote Storage database in the following circumstances:

After completely reinstalling Windows 2000, you need to restore the Remote Storage database files before you can recall files from offline storage.
The Remote Storage database is damaged.

Note

If you try to access a file in offline storage when the Remote Storage service is not installed, you might receive the following error message:

path and file name The file can not be accessed by the system.

If Remote Storage is installed but does not start you might receive the following error message:

Path and file name The remote storage service was not able to recall the file.

Restoring the Removable Storage Databases

After completely reinstalling Windows 2000, restore the Removable Storage databases before you restore the Remote Storage database. Each time Remote Storage migrates data to tape, these databases are automatically backed up to the media containing the migrated data. It is recommended that the databases on this media be used since they will contain the most recent copy of the Removable Storage database. Use the following procedure to restore the Removable Storage databases.

Note

For the following procedure, you need to reinstall Windows 2000 into the same folder and drive previously used. If Windows 2000 is installed to a different folder, the restore operation cannot return the databases to their original location.

To restore the Removable Storage databases

Caution

This procedure can cause you to lose changes to the Removable Storage database made after Remote Storage was backed up and before it was restored.

Verify that your tape or storage device is online and functioning. Start the Computer Management snap-in by right-clicking My Computer. Click Manage, double-click the Storage branch to expand it, and then click Removable Storage.
Open the Media pools and look in the Import pool. Locate the most recent tape used to store the Remote Storage migrated files. The default name for Remote Storage media is "RS" appended with the computer name and an incremental number (for example, "RS-MachineX-1"). The media with the highest number contains the most recent database backup. If the Remote Storage media spans two or more tapes, catalog these tapes using Backup (temporarily move these tapes to the NTBackup Media pool) and check the dates of the Remote Storage databases. Use the one with the most recent date.
Move this media to the NTbackup Media pool. If the pool does not exist, start Backup, and it is created automatically.
Use Backup to catalog the tape to find the latest copy of the Removable Storage and Remote Storage databases. These databases are stored on tape in the folders %windir%\system32\Ntmsdata and %windir%\system32\RemoteStorage. Check the dates of the files to determine the most recent copies.
Select the most current versions of the NtmsData and RemoteStorage folders to be restored. Make sure that all files below these sub-folders are also selected.
In the Restore files to box, click alternate location, and then click the drive that contains the Windows folder.

Caution

If the previous step is not performed, the databases are restored to the Remote Storage managed volume instead of the Windows 2000 operating system partition.

Click Start Restore, and then click Advanced. Click Restore Removable Storage Database, click OK, and then click OK.
After this process finishes, restart your computer.

Restoring the Remote Storage Database After Completely Reinstalling Windows 2000

Before restoring the Remote Storage database, reinstall Windows 2000 to the same drive and folder as the previous installation. During Setup, do not add the Remote Storage component. If this component was added accidentally or automatically, remove it, and then restart your computer.

Important

The following procedure assumes that you have completely reinstalled Windows 2000; that volumes that contain Remote Storage managed data are still intact; and that you have already performed the procedure to restore the Removable Storage databases.

To restore the Remote Storage database after completely reinstalling Windows 2000

Start the Removable Storage snap-in and verify that the databases have been restored. You can do this by looking to see if all of your media pools are present and the media are in their appropriate pools.
In Control Panel, use Add/Remove Programs to add Remote Storage .
Restart your computer, log on, and then using the Computer Management snap-in, expand the Services And Applications branch, and then click Services. Verify that the following services are stopped:
- Remote Storage Engine
- Remote Storage File
- Remote Storage Media
- Remote Storage Notification
At a command prompt, change to the %SystemRoot%\System32\RemoteStorage\Engdb folder, and then verify that this folder is empty by moving the files to another folder.
Use the Rstore.exe tool to run the following command from the Engdb folder. Type:
Rstore %systemroot%\system32\RemoteStorage\engdb.bak
In the Computer Management snap-in, expand Services And Applications, and then click Services. Locate and start the following services:
- Remote Storage Engine
- Remote Storage File
- Remote Storage Media
Open the Remote Storage snap-in and verify that your managed volumes appear and that all settings are correct. You may also want to test by recalling a few of the migrated files before putting the server back into production.

Restoring a Damaged Remote Storage Database

The following procedure assumes that the Removable Storage database is intact and that you are only restoring the Remote Storage database. For detailed information about restoring the Removable Storage database, see "Restoring the Removable Storage Databases" earlier in this chapter.

To restore a damaged Remote Storage database

In the Computer Management snap-in, expand Services And Applications, and then click Services. Verify that the following services are stopped:
- Remote Storage Engine
- Remote Storage File
- Remote Storage Media
- Remote Storage Notification
Using Removable Storage, open the Media pools and view in the Import pool. Locate the most recent tape used to store the Remote Storage migrated files. The default name for Remote Storage media is "RS" appended with the computer name and an incremental number. For example, RS-MachineX-1. The media with the highest number contains the most recent backup of the databases.
Move this media to the NTbackup media pool. If the pool does not exist, start Backup.
Using Backup, catalog the tape to find the latest copy of the Remote Storage database on tape in the %Windir%\System32\RemoteStorage folder. Check the dates of the files to find the most recent copies.

Note

If the Remote Storage media spans two or more tapes, catalog these tapes using Backup (temporarily move these tapes to the NTBackup Media pool). Check the dates of the Remote Storage databases and use the most recent one.

Select the most current RemoteStorage folder to be restored, and make sure that all files under this folder are also selected.
In the Restore files to dialog box, click Alternate location, and then click the drive that contains the Windows folder.

Caution

If the previous step is not performed, the databases are restored to the Remote Storage managed volume instead of the Windows 2000 operating system partition.

After the restoration finishes, at the command prompt, type:
%systemroot%\system32\RemoteStorage\engdb

Note

Make sure that this folder is empty by moving any existing files to another folder.

Use the Rstore.exe tool to run the following command from the Engdb folder. Type:
Rstore %systemroot%\system32\RemoteStorage\engdb.bak
After this command finishes, place the Remote Storage media used during the restoration in the RemoteStorage media pool.
In the Computer Management snap-in, expand Services And Applications, and then click Services. Locate and start the following services:
- Remote Storage Engine
- Remote Storage File
- Remote Storage Media
Open the Remote Storage snap-in and verify that your managed volumes appear and that all settings are correct. You might also want to test by recalling some migrated files before putting the server back into production.