Reset Windows Update Server 2012 R2

[Teena Ruiter]

Ifa backup is available, your best choice for restoring your server is to use the manufacturer's installation media to restore from an external backup. The restoration will recover server settings and folders from the backup that you choose. You only need to configure settings and restore data created after the backup.

When you choose to recover your server by restoring from a previous backup, you must choose the specific backup that you want restored, and you must have a valid backup file on an external hard drive that is directly connected to the server:

If you have a very recent successful backup of the server, and you know that the backup contains all of your critical data, your choice is fairly straightforward. You will only need to recreate data that was created after your last good backup and reconfigure settings changes made after the backup.

If you are restoring your server because of a virus, select a backup that you know occurred prior to receiving the virus. You might need to go back several days to select a backup that is clean.

If you are restoring your server because of bad configuration settings, select a backup that you know occurred prior to the configuration setting change that is causing the issue on the server.

If the server has a single hard drive and the drive is not replaced, the drive partition information is left intact when you restore the server. The system volume is restored, and the data on the remaining volume is preserved.

If the server has a single hard drive and the drive is replaced, the system volume is restored, and then you must manually restore folders to the data volume. Any non-default shared folders need to be created because they are not created when the server storage is recreated.

If the server has multiple hard drives, and drive 0 (contains the system volume) is not replaced, the drive partition information is left intact when you restore the server. The system volume is restored, and the data on all remaining volumes is preserved.

If the server has multiple hard drives, and drive 0 (contains the system volume) is replaced, the system volume is restored, and then you must manually restore any shared folders that were previously stored on drive 0.

If you do not have a backup that you can restore from, or for some other reason you want or need to perform a full system restore without restoring the previous server configuration, you can perform a restore that resets the server to factory default settings by using installation or recovery media from the server hardware manufacturer.

When you restore your server by resetting it to factory default settings, all existing settings and installed applications on your server are deleted, and you must configure your server again. After a factory reset, your server restarts.

If you plan to decommission or repurpose the server, choose to delete all of your data. In addition to the server configuration, other settings, and the data on the system volume, all other data is deleted, and all hard drives on the server are reformatted.

If Storage Spaces is configured on the server, before you perform a factory reset, you should use the Advanced section of the Manage Storage Spaces console to manually remove all storage spaces.

Reconfigure the server. On the server, use the Configure Server Wizard to reenter configuration settings. To configure a remotely managed Windows Server Essentials server from a client computer, open a web browser, and then type in the address bar.

Reconnect client computers to the server. If a computer was previously connected to the server, you must uninstall the Windows Server Essentials Connector software from the computer before you connect the computer to the server again. For more information, see Uninstall the Connector software and Connect computers to the server.

The first step in server restoration is to restore or repair the server system drive. After you restore the system drive, you will do whatever is needed to restore the data drives on the server and restore any sharing that was lost in the restore.

Restore or reset your server from a client computer using the recovery DVD. If you need to restore a remotely administered server that is running Windows Server Essentials, you must perform the restore from a client computer by using the restoration DVD from the server manufacturer.

The following procedure describes how to restore your server system drive from a backup by using the Windows Server Essentials installation media. (To find out how to use the installation media to restore to factory default settings, see the documentation from the server manufacturer.)

If the server uses Storage Spaces, and you are restoring the data to a new server, you should recover the system drive first, and then log on to the Windows Server Essentials Dashboard, configure Storage Spaces in a similar way as on the old server, and then recover the data volumes.

On the Select a system image backup page, you can choose to use the latest backup or you can select an earlier backup. The system will be restored to the state that it was in at the time of the backup that you choose for restoring or repairing your server. Data that was added or changes to settings that were made after the backup was saved must be recreated.

If you have a very recent successful backup of the server, and you know that the backup contains all of your critical data, your choice is fairly straightforward. You will only need to recreate data that was created after your last good backup and reconfigure settings changes made after the backup.

In Windows Server Essentials, you can start the server from a bootable USB flash drive that you create, and then you recover the server from a client computer by using the recovery DVD that you received from the server manufacturer. The client computer must be on the same network as the server. This method is not available in Windows Server Essentials.

The following procedure provides general steps for performing a server restore. The steps are equally applicable for restoring from a back or restoring to factory default settings. For more specific instructions, see the documentation from your server manufacturer.

After the Recover Your Server Wizard prepares the bootable USB flash drive, insert the flash drive in the server, and then start the server in recovery mode. To learn how to start your server in recovery mode, refer to the documentation from the manufacturer of your server hardware.

This method of server recovery ignores external storage devices that are attached to the server during the recovery. If you want to erase the data on an external storage device, you must do so manually.

If you created additional shared folders on the server, after you restore the data from the backup, the additional shared folders might not be recognized by the server. You must share those folders again. For more information, see Restore files and folders on the server.

Depending on the method that you used to restore or repair your server, and the type of storage the server uses, you might need to recover the data volumes after you restore the system drive. In some case, you might need to share existing folders again so that the server recognizes them.

Restore files and folders from a server backup. If you replaced the system disk, or if the partition information on the system disk is unreadable, you can restore the system, but you cannot restore data from other volumes on this disk. To restore files and folders from other data volumes, you must use the Restore Files and Folders Wizard.

Restore shared folders on the server. If you created additional shared folders on the server, after you restore the system drive from the backup, the shared folders are still on the data partition or were restored to the data partition, but might not be recognized by the server. You must share those folders again.

The Restore Files and Folders Wizard helps you protect your data if your hard disk stops working or your files are accidentally erased. With Windows Server Essentials Backup, you can create a copy of all the data on your hard drive and store the data on an external storage device. If the original data on your hard drive is accidentally erased, overwritten, or becomes inaccessible because of a malfunction, you can restore the data from the backup. The Restore Files or Folders Wizard helps you restore a single file or folder, multiple files or folders, or an entire hard drive from an existing backup.

After a system restore, you might need to use the Restore Files and Folders Wizard to restore files and folders that were not retained during the restore. For example, if you replaced the system disk, or if the partition information on the system disk is unreadable, you cannot restore data from other volumes on the system disk.

You cannot use the Restore Files and Folders Wizard to restore the full system drive. For information about how to restore the full system, see Restore or repair your server using installation media or Restore or reset your server from a client computer using the recovery DVD.

After you restore the server's system drive, if shared folders are still on the data partition or were restored to the data partition, you might need to configure the shared folders again in order for the server to recognize the folders. The following procedure describes how to add shared folders that have been shared before.

After you finish adding folders to the list of shared folders, ensure that the folders are included in the server backup. For information about adding folders to the server backup, see Set up or customize server backup.

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