The operating system is installed and resides

Term Fragmented. Definition When the contents of a file are scattered across two or more noncontiguous sectors. Term Password. Definition A private combination of characters associated with the user name that allows access to a certain computer resources.

Term Lossless. Definition Compression type in which a compressed file can be returned to its exact original state. Term Anti-Spam. Definition A filtering program that attempts to remove spam before it reaches a users inbox. Term Antivirus. Definition To protect a computer from virus attacks, install this kind of program and update it frequently.

Term Virtualization. Definition The practice of sharing or pooling computing resources, such as servers. Term Gadget. Definition A mini-program with minimal functionality that connects to another program or provides information.

Term Permissions. Definition Define who can access certain resources and when they can access those resources. Term Pop-Up. Definition An internet advertisement that appears ina new window in the foreground of a web page displayed in a users browser. Term Application Software. Definition When purchasing this, users must ensure that it works with the operating system installed on their computer.

Term Administrator Account. Definition Enables you to access all files and programs on the computer or network, install programs, and specify settings that affect all users on a computer or network.

Term Thrashing. Definition If application software has stopped responding and the hard disks LED blinks repeatedly, the operating system is probably doing this. Term Lossy. Definition Type of compression in which the quality of a file decreases slightly each time the file is compressed, which makes it impossible to restore that file to its exact original state. Term User name. Definition A unique combination of characters that identifies a specific user.

Term Taskbar. Learn more. Windows 11 Windows 10 Windows 8. Related links If you're having a problem with activation, see Activate in Windows. Related links If you're having a problem with activation, see Activate Windows.

Find operating system info in Windows 8. If your device is running Windows 8. Related links If you're having a problem with activation, see Activate Windows 7 or Windows 8. Find operating system info in Windows 7 Select the Start button, type Computer in the search box, right-click on Computer , and then select Properties. Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, We recommend you move to a Windows 11 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft. Need more help?

Join the discussion. A subscription to help make the most of your time. For up to 6 people. Premium apps. Try 1 month free. Note If you back up the computer to a hard disk, you will have to either move that disk to the destination server, or you will have to share that hard disk over the network if it is possible to do so. In the Which file types do you want to backup window, select all the check boxes, and then click Next. You must use an installation disc that contains Windows Vista Service Pack 1 because the release version of Windows Vista does not support this scenario.

Select the operating system that you want to repair. If you are restoring to a blank hard disk, no operating systems are listed. Restart the computer, and then verify that it is functioning correctly. For more information about how to use the netdom tool, see the Netdom article on the Microsoft website. If the trust relationship test fails and indicates a failed security channel, you can run the netdom command on the destination computer to reset the channel.

The netdom command is also available in the Support Tools. To reset the security channel, use the following netdom command:. To recover a Windows Server installation, follow the steps in the following Microsoft TechNet article:. Backing Up Your Server. For client and member server computers, follow these steps to back up the Windows installation and restore it to a different computer. A member server is any server that is not a domain controller.

On the source computer, use Windows Backup to back up the system drive, the system drive subfolders, and the system state. On the destination computer, perform a new installation of Windows by using the same operating system version as the source computer.

Make sure that you install the operating system in the same drive and path that was used on the source computer. After the new installation is complete, log on to the destination computer as Administrator. By using Disk Management, create, format, and assign drive letters to any additional volumes that may be required to hold a system state component.

Make sure that all drive letters match those of the source computer. Disk space for volumes on the destination computer should be as least as large as corresponding volumes on the source. The Boot. Click Start , click Run , type ntbackup, and then click OK. On the Tools menu, click Options , click the Restore tab, and then click Always replace the file on my computer.

Restore the system state from the backup that you performed earlier. Make sure that you select the option to restore to the original location. Note To have access to all removable media tape or magneto-optical disk from the source computer after the restore operation is complete, you must click Restore Removable Storage Database under the Advanced button before you start the restore operation. After the restore operation is complete, but before you restart the destination computer, follow these steps:.

Copy the Boot. Reinstall the destination computer's hard disk controller drivers if third-party drivers are being used. Verify that the source computer is either turned off, disconnected from the network, or has been reinstalled by using a different computer name and IP address. If the source computer had a static IP address, the destination computer will have that same static IP address after the restore operation.

If the restored computer was a member computer or member server, test the security channel by using the NLTEST command:. If the destination computer is a member computer or member server, you may have to reset its security channel with the domain, depending on how recently the backup occurred.

The netdiag command is available when you install the Support Tools on the Windows installation media. Warning The following procedure is intended for failure recovery or hardware replacement of a single domain when no other domain controllers are available.

If there are other healthy domain controllers online for the domain, we recommend that you do not perform a restore at all. Instead, perform a new installation of Windows on the destination computer and run the Active Directory Installation Wizard Dcpromo. Note The following requirements must be met to move Windows Server to a different computer. Startup hard disk capacity should be larger or same size.

You should make sure that your RAID setup on destination computer does not interfere with the boot order of the hard disks. Additionally, the architecture of WinRE or Setup CD should match architecture of the operating system being recovered. You can treat AMD or Intel processors as being the same, if they follow the same architecture.

The backup of AMD x64 computer's operating system can be recovered on to an Intel x64 computer or vice a versa. To back up and restore a Windows Server domain controller installation, follow the steps in the following TechNet article:. Backing up your Server. Use the Windows backup tool to back up the system drive and the system state. For Windows , if Sysvol resides on a drive other than the system drive, you must also back up that folder and all subfolders.

Perform a new installation of Windows on the destination computer by using the same version of Windows as the source computer. Make sure that you install Windows to the same location as on the source computer. After the new installation is complete, log on to the destination computer as an administrator.

By using Disk Management, create, format, and assign drive letters to any additional volumes that may be required to hold a system state component or an application. Put a copy of the Boot. If the source computer is the only domain controller for the domain, reinstall Windows on the source computer, or disconnect it from the network, before you restore the backup to the destination computer.

We recommend those steps, because it is too easy for someone to turn the source computer back on. If someone turns on the source computer, name conflicts or other problems with the destination computer occur. If the source computer is not the only domain controller for the domain, use the Active Directory Installation Wizard to remove Active Directory from the source computer.

Then, either reinstall Windows on the source computer, or disconnect it from the network. When you have confirmed that the source computer and the restored destination computer are not online at the same time, restore the backup by following these steps:. Restore the system state and the system drive from the backup that you performed earlier.

For Windows , you must also manually select the Sysvol folder to be restored. The system state includes Sysvol. However, there is an issue in Windows that prevents the Sysvol junction points from being restored correctly if you restore only the system state.