Guest OS Restore from Microsoft Windows File Systems (FAT, NTFS or ReFS)

You can restore VM guest OS files from a storage snapshot. Veeam Backup & Replication supports file-level restore for the following Microsoft Windows file systems:

  • FAT
  • NTFS
  • ReFS

When you perform guest OS file restore, you select an ESXi host in the virtual environment. Veeam Backup & Replication creates a clone of the storage snapshot where the VM disks are hosted, and mounts the clone to the selected ESXi host as a new datastore.

Veeam Backup & Replication accesses the configuration file of the VM (VMX) on the mounted clone and uses this configuration file to register a temporary VM on the ESXi 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.

Requirements for FAT, NTFS or ReFS Restore from Storage Snapshots

Before you perform Backup from Storage Snapshots, check requirements specific for data recovery in Data Recovery from Storage Snapshots Requirements and Limitations.

Performing Instant Recovery from Storage Snapshots

For information on performing restore from FAT, NTFS or ReFS, see section the Restoring VM Guest OS Files (FAT, NTFS or ReFS) section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.