Recover of System Failures

Module – Recover of System Failures (check module name for

language correctness – should it be recovery of system failures instead? Change module name in header
accordingly)
TWB response: Many of the chapters contain ungrammatical names – such as Planning A Network Documentation,
Designing A Infrastructure – we were specifically disallowed from making any changes

Overview
System failures are often a cause of concern to network administrators. System
failures can often lead to loss of critical data. A network must always be
safeguarded against system failures. However, if system failures occur, tools
should be available to recover the system. The module covers the following 3
lessons:
Lesson 1 Backup and Restore Files – explains the components of a
backup plan and the backup job types. It also explains restore and the
backup utility of Windows Server 2003.
Lesson 2 Recover Corrupted Systems – explains the recovery tools
provided by Windows Server 2003.
Lesson 3 Imaging of Client Computers and Servers – explains the
imaging tool supported by Windows Server 2003. It also explains the support
provided to third party imaging software.

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Lesson 1 – Back up and Restore Files

Introduction
Backup and restore are basic operations of an administrator. These operations
provide a backup strategy against network failure and unintended human
operations, like deleting a file by mistake. In this lesson, you will learn about:
The Backup Utility
Volume Shadow Copy

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Topic 1 – The Backup Utility

This topic lists the issues addressed by a backup plan and gives an
overview of the backup job types.
Issues addressed by backup plans
• Deciding which files to backup
• Scheduling the backup process
• Deciding the backup media
Backup job types
• Full Backup – Backup all selected files. Resets archive bits for the copied
files.
• Incremental Backup – Backup selected files that have their archive bits
set. Resets archive bits for the copied files.
• Differential Backup – Backup selected files that have their archive bits
set. Does not reset archive bits for the copied files.
© 2006 IIHT Limited
 Recover of System Failures

Topic 2 – Volume Shadow Copy

This topic explains volume shadow copy and its features
Volume shadow copy is a service provided by Windows Server 2003 that
allows you to backup files
Features
• Can be used only for files on a system.
• It cannot be used for system backups.
• Can be performed on a volume of the hard disk.

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Lesson 2 –Recover Corrupted Systems

Introduction
Windows Server 2003 provides a list of tools that allow you to recover the
operating system from a corrupted state. In this lesson, you will learn about :
Device Driver Rollback
Safe Mode
Last Known Good Configuration
Recovery Console

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Topic 1 – Device Driver Rollback

This topic explains how device drivers can be rolled back to disable
the newly installed driver.
Incompatible drivers may cause problems to some system functioning.
Use Roll Back Driver option to restore the system to the previous state
Option available in device properties

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Topic 2 – Safe Mode

Safe mode is a state of the system that is loaded with a minimum
set of drivers.
Safe mode is used when drivers are corrupted and the system is not able to
boot properly.
Types of Safe Mode:
• Standard Safe Mode
• Safe mode with Networking
• Safe Mode Command Prompt

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Topic 3 – Last Known Good Configuration

Last known good configuration is used to restore a system to its
previous configuration. This topic explains how to use this option.
Control sets are a list of registry keys that allow control over startup of
services and drivers. The three control sets are:
• ControlSet001
• ControlSet002
• CurrentControlSet
Once a computer boots successfully, the configuration settings are stored in
a registry key called LastKnownGood key. Control sets use this key to obtain
configuration information.
The LastKnownGood key is used to restore the last known good
configuration. This will not correct the errors in the system. It will only restore
the system to a configuration that existed before
© 2006 IIHT Limited
 Recover of System Failures

Topic 4 – Recovery Console

This topic explains the features of recovery console, another tool
for system recovery.
Recovery Console is a tool that allows you to access system settings and
files. It provides a command-line interface and should be loaded on the
system through a boot CD.
Features
• It can access files that are based on NTFS permissions
• You can recover data from a system whose operating system is corrupted
• It performs disk management

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Lesson 3 – Imaging of Client Computers and

Servers
Introduction
Installing the operating systems on each of the computers on the network can be
a very tedious and time consuming process. To simplify the process, you can
install the operating system on a single machine and then create a copy of the
machine hard disk and partitions. This process is known as imaging. The imaged
file can then be copied to all other systems of the network. This process is
definitely faster. In this lesson, you will learn about :
Remote Installation Services
Third Party Imaging Utilities

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Topic 1 – Remote Installation Services

Remote Installation Services (RIS) is an imaging tool supported by
Windows Server 2003.
RIS supports imaging of Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 and Windows
XP systems.
File types:
• RIPrep image - the systems must have similar hardware and also a
similar hardware abstraction layer
• Flat image the hardware can be different and also the abstraction layer
can be different
Contd…

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Topic 1 – Remote Installation Services

Hardware requirements of RIS Servers
• NTFS Volume
• 10/100 Mbps adapter.
• Separate 4 GB volume to hold the RIS images.
• The RIS client must meet the following criteria:
– Minimum hardware requirements for the operating systems that the
client will install
– Clients must have a Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) boot
ROM version 1 or greater
Imaging process

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Topic 2 – Third Party Imaging Utilities

This topic gives an overview of third party imaging utilities.
Process for third-party imaging software is similar to the RIS software
You must use the Sysprep tool before running the third-party software.
Sysrep removes all the computer specific details

© 2006 IIHT Limited

 Recover of System Failures

Conclusion
Summary of the module
Volume Shadow Copy is a Windows Server 2003 service that allows you to
backup files on a volume
Backup job types are Full, Incremental and Differential. They differ in the way
they operate on the file archive bit
Last Known Good Configuration restores the system to its previous working
state through the use of Control Sets
Recovery Console can be used to recover data from a system whose operating
system is corrupted
PXE boot ROM allows the client to configure on the RIS server, without having
an operating system installed on the client machine Sysprep provides support
to third-party imaging software on a Windows network

Question and Answer Session

© 2006 IIHT Limited