Step 1 - Find the plan


In addition to restoring an individual file or a group of files, the software can restore the entire protection plan. Generally, you would only need to restore an entire protection plan in the case of moving files, accidental deletion, or restoring a system after a disk change or crash.


The process of restoring an entire protection plan begins with finding the protection plan recovery point you want to restore. Refer to Finding a Plan's Archive Times.


Click on the recovery point (archive time) you would like to restore and ensure that the Status column shows "Available". If the Status column shows "Offline", make available the storage that is shown under the "Storage" column.


When a recovery point that is "Available" is highlighted, the "Explore" and "Restore" buttons at the bottom right of the screen become active. Click Restore to open the "Point in Time Restore" dialog.



Step 2 - Choose how to restore


There are three basic questions you will need to answer when restoring a protection plan:


  • What location, or folder, should I choose to restore my files?
  • Should I replace existing files?
  • Should I remove extra files from the restore location?


Restore files to:


  • Original location - Your files can be restored to the original folder from which you archived the files. This is the default operation. If the folder which contained the files at the time the files were archived no longer exists the software will create the folder.


  • Alternate location - You can restore your files to an alternate folder, that is, a folder different from the one from which you archived the files. This option will preserve the folder structure of the archived data. That is, all folders and subfolders that existed when the protection plan archived the data will appear in the alternate folder you choose.


Restoring to an alternate folder is performed by clicking the "Restore files to:" drop down and clicking "Alternate Location". When this is done the text next to "Alternate location:" becomes active and can be clicked as a link.


When the link "Click here to select an alternate folder" is clicked a dialog window will open so that you can choose a new folder to which the software will restore the files.


Restore:


There are four options to choose from that determine whether the software will replace files on your PC with the files that you archived.


  • Choose Missing files if you do not want the restore operation to copy over files that are already in the restore location. This option only restores files that are not present in the folder where you have chosen to restore the files. You might choose this option to only copy files you believe are missing from a folder. If you have chosen to restore the archive to an alternate folder, then it is possible that all files will be restored since the alternate folder may not contain any of the files in the archive.


  • Choose Missing files and files that have changed if you want the restore operation to restore files that no longer exist in the folder (missing) and files that that have a different Last Modified Time than those in the restore point. You might choose this option to replace a file on your hard disk with a different version from the restore point. If you have chosen to restore to an alternate folder, then it is possible that all files will be restored since the alternate folder might not contain any of the files in the archive.


  • Choose Missing files and replace existing files if you want the restore operation to restore files that no longer exist in the folder (missing) and to replace all files in the restore location regardless of whether the archived files are newer or older. You might choose this option if you are rebuilding a particular area of your hard disk.


  • Choose Missing files, files that have changed, and remove extras if you want the restore operation to restore files that no longer exist in the folder (missing) and files that have a different Last Modified Time than those in the restore point, and remove all files and folders from the restore location that do not exist in the restore point. You might choose this option to replace a file on your hard disk with a different version from the restore point and remove any files that were created since this archive time. If you have chosen to restore to an alternate folder, then it is possible that all files will be restored since the alternate folder might not contain any of the files in the archive.


After choosing the restore options, click "Restore" and the software will begin to restore the files from your protection plan. After the restore operation is complete you can view its log file by clicking "View Log". A record of the restoration will also appear in the Results page under the protection plan name. You can view the record of the restoration by clicking "Results" on the far left panel and finding the protection plan name that was restored. In the Action column will be the word "Restore" and the date and time of the restoration.