Before You Begin

Before you restore VM guest OS files, check the following prerequisites:

• You can restore VM guest OS files from a backup or replica that has at least one successfully created restore point.

• You cannot restore files from a backup created in the reverse incremental mode if the backup job is being performed. If the backup is created in the incremental backup mode and the backup job is being performed, you can restore files from any available restore point.
• You cannot restore VM guest OS files from a running replica or if the replication job with the necessary VM is being performed.
• If you plan to restore VM guest OS files to the original location, the VM guest OS must be accessible from the backup server over the network.
• If you plan to restore files from a VM running Microsoft Windows ReFS, for the restore process you must use Veeam Backup & Replication components running the following OSes:

• [For VM file system browsing and file copy to another location] The Veeam Backup & Replication console must be installed on a machine running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or later.
• [For restore to the original location] The Veeam Backup & Replication console and mount server associated with the backup repository where backup files reside must be installed on a machine running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or later.

To restore files from a VM running Microsoft Windows ReFS 3.x, the console and mount server must be installed on machines running Microsoft Windows Server 2016.

• If you plan to restore VM guest OS files to their initial location, VMware Tools must be installed on the target VM.
• If you plan to restore files from a VM running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 or later and Data Deduplication is enabled for some VM volumes, for the restore process you must use Veeam Backup & Replication components running the following OSes:

• [For copy to another location operations] The Veeam Backup & Replication console must be installed on a machine running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or later. Data Deduplication must be enabled on this machine.
• [For restore to the original location] The Veeam Backup & Replication console and mount server associated with the backup repository where backup files reside must be installed on a machine running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 or later. Data Deduplication must be enabled on the mount server.

• The mount server must have access to the VM guest OS (if file-level restore is performed over the network) or vCenter Server (if file-level restore is performed over VIX).