You can restore VM guest OS files from a storage snapshot. Veeam Backup Free Edition supports file-level restore for the following Microsoft Windows file systems:
- FAT
- NTFS
- ReFS
When you perform guest OS file restore, you select an ESX(i) host in the virtual environment. Veeam Backup Free Edition creates a clone/virtual copy of the storage snapshot on which the VM disks are hosted, and mounts the clone/virtual copy to the selected ESX(i) host as a new LUN/volume.
Veeam Backup Free Edition accesses the configuration file of the VM (VMX) on the mounted clone/virtual copy and uses this configuration file to register a temporary VM on the ESX(i) host. Disks of the restored VM are mounted to this temporary VM. After disks are mounted, you can copy VM guest OS files and folders to their original location, local machine drive or save them in a network shared folder.
Before you start file-level restore, check prerequisites. Then use the File Level Restore wizard to restore VM guest OS files and folders.
- Launch the File Level Restore wizard
- Select a restore point
- Select an ESX(i) host for snapshot mounting
- Specify a restore reason
- Save restored files
