Unable to do recovery using USB on physical server

Hello ​@GreatJob ,

you are trying to restore backup files created with the Veeam Backup & Replication Server with a Veeam Agent.

Are you using different versions?

Did you copy backup files of a primary backup job ar a copy backup job?

Did you create the recovery media with the agent or with the VBR Server?

Hi ​@GreatJob,

As Joe said this could happen due to different versions, I saw that before.

Also you should make sure that when you copy the backup files to an accessible location for restore the assiciated job should not be running and you have to make sure that you copy every file (including metadata, full and increments, etc.) to have a consistent chain.

Please have a look at this thread.

Thanks for the reply all!

​@JMeixner I can not remember which version is in production now, but I’ve previously used the same Veeam Recovery Media .iso to create a bootable USB. Is it possible to check in the metadata file or something? I’m pretty sure this ISO was created on the backup server using VBR.

After the backups are created they are moved to a different server to be transferred onshore. These are the ones I’m trying to use. Sorry, I’m a bit new to all this.

I looked at the thread but I’m not sure how to create a repository for USB drives. I just installed VBR Community Edition on a VM to see if I could create recovery media there that would work. I have no way of reaching the actual backup server or the machines I’m trying to recover. I just have access to the backup files and try to replicate the machines on different hardware for a test setup.

​@lukas.k I have a copy of all the files. (.vbm, .vbk, .vim). The files where copied from the backup server after they were created. Its only a monthly backup as there rarely are any changes to the system.

Until the latest release of the Veeam Agent (6.3), it wasn’t possible to directly restore from backup files which were targeted at a VBR backup repository. In your case, you would have to update the agent to v6.3 and create a new recovery media afterwards. Then it should be possible to restore from those backup files.

Bare Metal Recovery from manual copies — Due to popular demand, we are adding the ability to perform bare metal recovery from a locally attached storage device containing backups manually copied from a backup repository. This provides added flexibility and convenience by allowing you to restore systems without establishing a direct network connection to the backup repository, which may not always be feasible. Note: To enable this functionality, create recovery media once agent is upgraded.

​@GreatJob  You can fine the VBR server version by open the .VBM file in notepad or any text editor and search for “ProductVersion” 

However as ​@regnor said, the newer Veeam Agent (6.3) version should be able to restore from those backup files.

As an alternative approach, since you already have the VBR Community Edition installed locally, try importing the backups into VBR server and pointing the backup location to “Network Storage → Veeam backup repository” using the recovery ISO.

​@regnor I’m not sure what you mean by “backup files which were targeted at a VBR backup repository”? I’m trying to restore from backup files I have copied to a separate USB.

Is it possible to install the new agent on a VM and create the recovery media there? Because there is no way I will be able to do this in the plant. Its all in a remote location.

I don’t think this should be needed though, because I’ve done the recovery before. I just can’t figure out whats different/I’m doing wrong this time… Do you have a link to a guide on how to create recovery media from the Veeam Agent?

While you have the backup files on USB, they were initially created on a backup repository from Veeam Backup & Replication; therefore you’re seeing the error message. I’m not sure what’s different compared to your last case, but maybe those backup files were created directly on USB?

Anyhow I would suggest you try the recovery media from a 6.3 agent. You can create it from a different machine, but the Windows version/build should be the same.

https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/agentforwindows/userguide/image_create.html?ver=60

Thanks for the input so far, guys!

An update: I found some older backups and managed to recover without issues. I would really like to be able to use the latest backups for our test setup though, and also understand why they’re not working.

I checked the ProductVersion in the .vbm file of both the old and new backup and they are the same.

I dont understand why I would have to use the Veeam Agent as its working with older backups. They are created the same way. I also think we have some “custom” agent solution to be able to do backups while our system is running. Its just a service; no program i can open to create recovery media (except for the command line tool).

I also got access to another project setup that uses the same versions and has the same type of computers as us. Tried to create recovery media there (in VBR), but didn’t work. When I checked out the guide you linked to ​@regnor , our servers with agents does not have any of the tools shown in the last picture here.

Then I would assume you are using an outdated agent or recovery media….

I’m not sure whether managed agents don’t include that option, but alternatively you can create a new media from within the Backup & Replication console: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/agents/recovery_media_create.html?ver=120

If you see the same error with the 6.3 recovery media, then I would suggest you open a support case.

Since an older restore point worked, it might be worth checking if the backup file is corrupted. Have you tried using the Veeam Backup Validator? It’s a handy tool to verify if the backup is still good. You can check it out here: helpcenter.veeam.com. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tip!

I tried this, and said it failed. But will it work on our backups that are encrypted? I couldn’t find any switch for passing encryption key. But if encryption isn’t an issue, then it looks like I have some corrupted backups. I did like this when running cmd as admin:

Veeam.Backup.Validator.exe /file:"path-to-vbk-file"

I downloaded the latest version of VBR as mentioned, imported the backup and created new media from there. That didn’t help. Neither did creating backup media from our other test setup.

Could you share a screenshot of the logs when running the Validator?

I believe there should be no issue with the files having encryption enabled, as the Validator uses the checksum for all data blocks in the backup file and compares them against the initial values.

For more information, you can refer to the user guide.

Not sure why it says “Failed to access storage file”. Is it because the file is corrupt, or is the validator not able to check the file because of some permission issue or something? I’m running the tool as an admin on a VM (the backup files are also on the VM).