Client Restore to New Hardware

[rfajman]

I have Retrospect for Windows 12.6.1.101 Desktop with Dissimilar Hardware Restore.  Up to now, I have been backing up the computer running Desktop and two clients to four hard disks, in rotation. 

Now I have gotten a new machine and want to restore the operating system and data files from one of the old machines to the new machine.  The old machine has a 1 TB SSD, partitioned with two volumes, one for the operating system and one for data, plus, of course, the UEFI system and the recovery partitions.  The new machine has two SSDs:  1 TB for data (replacing the OEM hard disk) and 512 GB for the operating system (replacing the OEM SSD).  The 1 TB SSD currently has the original operating system on it (copied from the OEM SSD by Samsung migration software).  The 512 GB SSD is empty, except for being partitioned and formatted.  The UEFI system and the recovery partitions were copied from the 1 TB SSD.  I've been having trouble restoring the operating system volume to the 512 GB SSD using the Disaster Recovery client.  I have installed the driver for that SSD into the DR client.  The otherone does not need a special driver.  The most recent error I've gotten is

+    Executing Restore from Backup at 2/1/2018 3:10 PM
    2/1/2018 3:10:42 PM: Connected to minint-d36kkvn
    To volume Programs Disk (C:) on minint-d36kkvn...

-    2/1/2018 3:10:42 PM: Restoring from Backup Set 1, Snapshot Dell15R, 2/1/2018 4:43:44 AM
        [*] T-29: VssWBeginRestore: PreRestore failed, winerr -2147212270, error -3045
    2/1/2018 3:11:16 PM: Execution incomplete
        Duration: 00:00:09 (00:00:03 idle/loading/preparing)

I got other errors before this, the most significant being Retrospect telling me that it was going to wipe out information on the other SSD, not the one I told it to restore to.  To stop it from saying that, I first changed the drive letter on the volume I didn't want Retrospect to write to and, when that didn't work, I took the volume offline.  Then I tried taking the whole disk offline.  Still no joy.

So now I am at a loss.  I know that, as a last resort, I can reinstall the operating system, but why should I have to?  I hope that, if I do that, Retrospect will at least let me restore the data.

 

.

[DavidHertzberg]

rfajman:

You should look at this 2014 Knowledge Base article.  To my intense surprise   its title is "Error -3045 (There is insufficient storage space to complete the operation) and -3405 (Cant backup system state)".  It sounds to me as if Retrospect thinks the 512GB SSD on your new machine is too small to restore the partition on the old machine that contains the operating system.  Do consider the first and last paragraphs in the article, concerning extra space that will apparently be required on your 512GB SSD.

[GTA_doum]

And years later... This bug is still present!  Unable to restore my Windows 2016 server to a bigger drive on a replacement computer...  I will have to resort to another backup tool to be able to backup and restore, I already spent all my Saturday on this and do not see a solution for this issue with this software, and after seeing this post here, I'm even more convinced I will not find a solution before the end of the day, so time to try MacRium...

[DavidHertzberg]

GTA_doum,

First, you don't say what version of Retrospect Windows you are running.  Given that this Wikipedia article says Windows Server 2016 has at least two successors, I suspect you aren't running the latest Retrospect Windows release.  But that may not matter.

Second, you don't say how much bigger your "bigger drive on a replacement computer" is.  Does that "replacement computer" have a version of Windows Server already installed?  If so, and you want to keep it, you'll want to restore only the non-OS portions of what you have got backed up—and the drive on the replacement computer must be big enough for those plus the OS that's already there.  If not, then you'll want to wipe the drive on the replacement computer and— with enough space—follow the applicable "Disaster recovery" procedures on pages 316–328 of the Retrospect Windows 16 User's Guide.

Finally, you don't say whether the "bug" that "is still present" gives you the same error message -3045 as in rfajman's OP in this thread.  If so, I suggest you read the same 2014 Knowledge Base article I suggested he consult in February 2018.  My suggestion evidently solved his problem; he was still posting here in 2020.

However, I just noticed that rfajman's OP also reported "I got other errors before this, the most significant being Retrospect telling me that it was going to wipe out information on the other SSD, not the one I told it to restore to".  In case you were also getting these, here's MrPete's  recently-updated thread "ADMIN GUIDE: Hints for success with Disaster Recovery".  See the section "Bare Metal Recovery" in that thread's OP.

Edited July 25, 2021 by DavidHertzberg
Add 4th paragraph, in case GTA_doum was also getting problems with Retrospect telling him it was going to wipe on information on the wrong drive. 3rd paragraph concerns error -3045.