Active Directory/SystemState Restore...

[ZENYO]

To a completely different setup...

I'm going to throw this in the network section because this falls under the duties of most network admins. (mods, please feel free to move if I mis-posted )

Ok, here we go. I am trying to put together a DRP (disaster Recovery Plan). The DRP will cover (in the event our office goes up in flames, or theft etc…) setting up a temporary windows 2000 server (DNS, DHCP, AD) on a P4 (custom built workstation) with SQL and our ERP System. Before I even consider SQL/ERP, I need to restore a backup of Active Directory from an IBM Xseries 345.

I have installed W2k Server on the P4 machine and Setup AD, DNS, DHCP. At this point, in preparation for restoring AD from the server, I uninstalled the Video Card and Network Card so that I don’t confuse the HAL from the restore. I also made a copy of the Boot.ini and Hal.dll files from the P4 so that I can replace the ones that will eventually be restored from the IBM.

My main hiccup for now - I have made a System State Backup from the IBM Server. When I attempt to restore to the P4, Windows Backup will not let me select “Active directory” and “Sys Vol”, It is forcing me to restore the whole system state which includes “Com+ Calss Registration”, “boot files” and “Registry”. According to the MS disaster recovery documentation (and we all know how good M$ documentation is ), I should be able to select what I want to restore from the system state backup. Why can I not then?

Any ideas? Do I need restore the whole system state and then do some tweeking afterwards? Or are the two hardwares so different that I’m attempting the impossible?

 

[Davetoo]

Are you booting into restore mode?

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[ZENYO]

Yes, I'm booting in Directory Services Restore Mode...

"I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book."

I luv It

 

[Davetoo]

To be completely honest, I think you're better off, in the long run, to acquire identical hardware to restore to. I found this:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q249694&ID=KB;EN-US;Q249694,

but it specifically warns against doing that with a DC.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[ZENYO]

I'll have a read. Thanks, I was searching for a document like that but I couldn't find anything...

Anyway, I will be presenting a DRP with both Identical hardware and different hardware. The reason for this is that I've already been told that the company does not want to flip the bill for another IBM Xseries 345 (or similar) so I need to cover my tracks an make sure that all angles are presented so it does not come back to bit me later.