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How to perform a full server recovery of a domain controller

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This topic covers the steps to do a full server recovery, also known as bare metal restore, of a domain controller. I had trouble getting the restore to work using a backup located on a network share because in the recovery environment, networking is not enabled and there are no drivers installed. After I configured that, locating the backup over the network was easy. I did not spend much time writing this, so I encourage others to edit and improve it.

Performing a full server recovery

Use the following procedure to perform a full server recovery for Windows Server 2012. The target server needs to be started from the operating system DVD in order to access the Repair your computer option. The number drives on the target server needs to be equal to the number in the backup and they need to be the same size or greater. If the target DC is running in a VM on Hyper-V and the backup is stored on a network location, you must install a legacy network adapter. 

To perform a full server recovery:

1.   Start Windows Setup, specify the Language, Time and currency format, and keyboard options and click Next.

2.   Click Repair your computer. If the backup is stored locally, skip to step 6. If the backup is stored on a network location, continue with step 3.

3.   Click Troubleshoot, click Command Prompt.

4.   Type the following command and press ENTER:

wpeinit

5.   To confirm the name of the network adapter, type:

show interfaces

Type the following commands and press ENTER after each command:

netsh

interface

tcp

ipv4

set address "Name of Network Adapter" static IPv4 Address SubnetMask IPv4 Gateway Address 1

For example:

set address "Local Area Connection" static 192.168.1.2 255.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 1

Type quit to return to a command prompt. Type ipconfig /all to verify the network adapter has an IP address and try to ping the IP address of the server that hosts the backup share to confirm connectivity. Close the command prompt when you are done.

6.   Click Troubleshoot, click System Image Recovery, and click Windows Server 2012.

7.   If you are restoring the most recent local backup, click Use the latest available system image (recommended) and click Next twice, click Finish, and click Yes to confirm the restore operation.

If you are restoring a different backup, click Select a system image and click Next.

8.   Click the name of a local backup file or click Advanced and click Search for a system image over the network to search for a backup over the network.

9.   Type the UNC path to the backup share location (for example, \\server1\backups) and click OK.  You can also type the IP address of the target server, such as \\192.168.1.3\backups.

10.  Type credentials necessary to access the share and click OK.

11.  Select the name of the backup file and click Next.

12.  Select the drives in the backup file and click Next.

13.  Click Format and repartition disks and click Next.

14.  Click Finish, and click Yes to confirm that all disks will be restored.