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Services Backup recovery
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Backups

Recovering inaccessible backups

A backup that can no longer be restored, from Veeam, Backup Exec, Macrium Reflect or other software: we recover the backup files and repair them, even if they are damaged themselves.

When a backup stops working

A backup is only worth something if it can be restored. In practice that goes wrong in several ways:

  • The storage holding the backups has failed: a NAS, a RAID, a USB drive, a deduplicated volume or a tape.
  • The backup files themselves are damaged: an incompletely written backup, corrupted blocks (bit rot) or a broken backup chain.
  • The backup server or its backup catalog is lost, so the software no longer knows what the backups contain.
  • The backups were deleted or overwritten, for example by a retention policy or during an attack.

If you notice a backup can no longer be restored, stop the backup jobs first. A new backup run may, under the retention policy, clean up exactly the old restore points you need.

Which backup software

We work with the formats of common backup software, including:

Veeam®

After recovering the underlying storage, we can often restore Veeam backups, even if they are damaged themselves. Veeam backup files contain a certain redundancy, and where needed the restore is done in consultation with Veeam.

Backup Exec

Backup Exec backups, on disk or tape, can often still be recovered, even when they have become inaccessible.

Macrium Reflect

We restore Macrium Reflect images and file backups even when they are partly damaged.

Backups from other software, such as Acronis, Windows Server Backup or the older NTBackup, can often be recovered too. State in your request which software and version were used.

All brand names mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Veeam® is a registered trademark of Veeam Software.

Technical: backup files and chains

Veeam stores a full backup in a .vbk file and incremental backups in .vib files (forward incremental) or .vrb files (reverse incremental). Backup Exec writes .bkf files, in a format derived from the Microsoft Tape Format (MTF). Macrium Reflect uses .mrimg for images and .mrbak for file backups.

Incremental and differential backups form a backup chain: a restore point needs every link up to the last full backup. If one link is damaged, the restore points after it can no longer simply be restored, while most of the data is still there.

First the storage, then the backup, then the data

A backup is often the top layer of a stack: the backup files sit on a file system, on a RAID or a NAS, sometimes with deduplication in between. If the storage has failed, we first recover it, then the backup files, and only then the data inside those backups.

More about multi-layer recovery →

How we repair a backup

  1. Analysis. We look at which software and version were used, where the backups were stored and what went wrong.
  2. Recover the storage. If the underlying storage has failed, we first copy the drives or tapes and reconstruct the volume.
  3. Check the backup files. We determine which files and which links of the chain are complete, and where the damage is.
  4. Repair. We repair the backup files, using the structure and redundancy they contain.
  5. Delivery. As files, or as a repaired backup you can restore yourself. You see the result before you pay.

What to do

Do

  • Stop the backup jobs so the retention policy no longer removes restore points.
  • Note the backup software, the version and how the backup jobs were set up.
  • Find passwords or keys if the backups are encrypted.
  • Keep the backup server or its configuration and catalog, if they still exist.

Don't

  • Do not delete restore points or move or rename backup files.
  • Do not run maintenance jobs such as compacting or cleanup.
  • Do not let new backups write to the same storage.
  • Do not run repair tools on the disk holding the backups.

Why it works here

More about our lab →
  • Nearly 20,000 donor drives The right part is usually ready.
  • X-ray in-house First see, then act.
  • Rework and reballing Chips removed and refitted safely.
  • Our own software Up to hundreds of terabytes.
  • Mobile cleanroom The device stays in your building.
  • Since 1988 Nearly forty years of equipment and experience.

A backup that can no longer be restored?

Stop the backup jobs and call us or request an analysis. Mention the software, the version and where the backups were stored.

free analysis request → +32 (0)800 11 400