Start a pending restore request

Starting a pending restore request notifies the Agent so it can begin to restore files. You can start pending restore requests for your devices regardless of whether you or a data administrator created them. When starting a request for a device running Agent 4.9.0 (or later) that contains a Windows user state (.mig) file, if your backup policy allows, you can opt for Connected to import the file automatically when the entire restore completes.

To receive the request and start restoring files, your Agent must be running, have an active network connection, and you must be logged on to the device as the user who owns the files. Otherwise, the Agent restores the files the next time these conditions are met. If the Agent receives a restore request while it is syncing files, it restores the files after the sync process completes.

If you are a data administrator, you can also start pending restore requests for users within your span of administrative control. If a user's Agent is configured to display desktop notifications, the user sees the Agent's progress as it restores files. To monitor the user's restore process yourself, you can view the restore request while it is in progress.

To start a restore request

  1. Click the RESTORE tab.

    By default, the page displays active restore requests for your devices and, if you are a data administrator, requests you created for other users. Active restore requests are requests that are pending or in progress.

  2. (Data administrators only) To see the requests of a specific user under your span of control, regardless of who created them, under USER, enter the person's email address.

  3. To start a pending restore request without viewing it, click it, and then click START RESTORE.

    TIP: You can view a restore request before you start it. To do so, click its device name. To start the request while viewing it, click START RESTORE.

  4. If you chose START RESTORE, do the following:

    1. If the device is running Agent version 4.7.0 or later, set the following restore options. Earlier Agents use the default restore settings.

      • Restore location. Select where the Agent restore files:

        • Original location (Default). The Agent restores files to their original location.

          If the original drive or volume does not exist, the Agent restores files to C:\From missingDriveName drive on Windows-based computers or (User's Documents Folder)/From missingDriveName volume on macOS-based ones.

        • Custom location. The Agent restores files to any folder you specify on the original device, including a mapped drive with an active connection. To specify the restore location, enter its full path. For example, C:\Restored on a Windows-based computers or /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored on a macOS-based one.

          If the folder you specify does not exist, the Agent creates it for you. If restoring an entire drive, the Agent restores the drive's files to the folder customLocation\From driveName drive on Windows-based computers or customLocation/From driveName volume on macOS-based ones.

          The following table provides examples of where the Agent restores files based on the type of item restored.

          Item selected for restore Specified custom location Restored location
          Windows

          File:   D:\Reports\Sales.txt

          		 C:\Restored C:\Restored\Sales.txt

          Folder:   D:\Reports

          		 C:\Restored C:\Restored\Reports
          Drive:   D: C:\Restored C:\Restored\From D drive
          macOS
          Folder:   

          /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Reports/Sales.txt

          /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored

          /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored/Reports/Sales.txt

          All hard disks:
          / or /Volumes          		 /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored

          If /Volumes contains the Macintosh HD and Photos hard disks:

          • /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored/From Macintosh HD volume
          • /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored/From Photos volume

          Specific hard disk:
          /Volumes/Photos/

          		 /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/bsmith/Restored/From Photos volume

      • Conflicts with existing files. Select what the Agent does when it restores a file that exists:

        • Keep existing files (Default). The Agent appends a number to the name of the file it restores. For example, if Report.txt exists, the Agent renames the file it restores to Report.1.txt.
        • Overwrite existing files. The Agent overwrites the existing file with the one it restores.

        NOTE: If you restore multiple versions of a file, the Agent always keeps the existing file regardless of whether you selected the restore option to keep or overwrite existing files. It appends the backup date to the name of each version it restores to help you differentiate between them.

      • Import Windows user state (Optional). If this option is available and the request contains a Windows user state .mig file that you want Connected to import when the entire restore completes, select the option and the file to import.

        NOTE: If the option appears but you cannot select it, Connected is still compiling the list of .mig files from the restore request. Wait a minute or two, and then click the link provided to check whether the process has completed.

      • File Security (Windows Only). Select, when restoring a file, whether to inherit the ACL or not.

        • Allow restoring security descriptors. By default this option is enabled. Disable this option when restoring to a non-domain windows environment. Disabling this option will not restore original file ownership details nor the ACL impacting file security.

          NOTE: This option will only be displayed if the user is not part of group that allows Service Level Operations.

    2. Click CONFIRM.

To learn how to monitor the request after starting it, see the FAQ How can I monitor the Agent's progress restoring files?