How to import backups stored on a 'Local Backup' Device in NovaBACKUP 20.1.x versions (20.1 and newer versions), including the special instructions for if the new or other computer you need to import the 'Local Backup' device on differs for the Domain and Computer name values as compared to the original computer that had performed the backups on that 'Local Backup' device.
How to import backups (all backups on that device type, not just each individual backup one at a time) stored on a 'Local Backup' Device (which is listed as the 'Local Storage' category in the Restore tab dialog) in NovaBACKUP 20.1.x (20.1 was the first version that had added the 'Local Backup' device support, which differs somewhat from the legacy drive letters type of devices that that existed in versions prior to 20.1 in that case. to backup to legacy C: drive for instance). The ability to do this for the 'Local Backup' device type was first added in the 20.1 backup client, but primarily would be utilized in 21.x now. Note: The ability to import has only been tested with English ASCII characters, no other foreign language character sets have been verified. The new device that you will be required to create on the new target computer, where you intend to execute the Local Backup Import function to import backups from the original source computer that backed up to a Local Backup device prior, will be required to contain the exact same field properties, for all of those fields, located in the first "Local Backup" tab, and in the "Network Credentials" tab (but only if the "Folder or Network Path" field value in the "Local Backup" tab is in fact a network path in that case only), and in the "Encryption" tab you will need to specify all of those fields, in all 3 of those tabs properly (if you were not using a network path you don't need to fill in the "Network Credentials" tab fields at all, and if you were not using "Encryption" at all on the device, then you also don't need to fill in the "Encryption" tab fields at all), as all of the those fields need to be specified and are required to match your original Local Backup device, that you are now attempting to import (the "Encryption" tab settings are only necessary if you don't want to be prompted to specify the encryption key(s) manually at the time of the Device Import in that case. The Local Backup "Device Name" field property that you will be creating on the new target computer does not need to match the original source computer's Local Backup "Device Name" field property. However, so if you already have a device named the same way on the new target computer, for instance if this was not a clean install of NovaBACKUP client, and you do want the device name to match the original computer, then you will be required to first delete that same named Local Backup device on the new target computer in the Devices tab of the client in order to add the same named device again with the exact same name as prior (only if that is needed, but if you do not do that extra step then you may need to edit all of your backup jobs that do utilize that Local Backup device name to change it to the correct device name by opening each backup job and re-associating to the correct Local Backup that now has a different device name in that case, and then save the job).
For importing backup sets that are located on a 'Local Backup' device type (this device type was added in 20.1.x) device which could be the case for instance if you lose your backup client machine and have to rebuild things, that can be accomplished by adding a new 'Local Backup' device (your existing device cannot be edited after it is saved the first time for any of the field properties in the first "Local Backup" tab in that case keep in mind) in NovaBACKUP client (in case you lose the device itself in the configuration or the computer that had NovaBACKUP installed on it was lost or damaged and need to rebuild your setup and get your indexed backups that are stored on that 'Local Backup' device, meaning that are stored somewhere locally, either on a local disk or a network path, back) please continue reading this guide.
On the new target machine, where you intend to perform the Import of backup records on to be able to restore contents from those backups, you will be required to install a compatible NovaBACKUP client (if your backups were performed in 21.1.1219 to a 'Local Backup' device (that is the name of the device type) then you will be required to re-use that exact same version 21.1.1219.1 (or newer) that had performed the backups, and if your backups were performed in 20.1.x to a 'Local Backup' device then you will be required to utilize at least that same version or newer that performed the backups, otherwise the Device Import may not work properly if for instance you attempt to utilize the Device Import function on a new target computer 20.1.x installed backup client and your original newer than 20.x 21.1.1219 client had performed the backups that may not work perfectly (as there were many changes to 'Local Backup' devices between 20.1.x and 21.1.1219 in that case, and so you will want to install on the new target computer the 21.1.1219 version on the new target computer that you will be performing the Device Import on now, if the backups on that original computer 'Local Backup' device was produced by 21.1.1219 in that case). Note: If you were to perform backups to a 'Local Backup' device using 20.1.x (for a 21.0.x Public Release version) then you can utilize any newer 21.x client version if you'd like and that should work. Load the NovaBACKUP backup client, that matches the version that produced the backups (20.1.x produced backups may only work with the same 20.1.x client version for the Import function, but 21.0.x produced backups should work with 21.1.1219 or newer 21.1.x client versions).
On the new target computer, where you intend to import 'Local Backup' device type ('Local Storage' is the category name for that device type if viewing it from the Restore tab) backups from the original source computer, load the backup client and click on the Device tab, then click "Add", then choose 'Local Backup' device, this can be done on a brand new install of NovaBACKUP, or it can also be done on a current installation that already has one 'Local Backup' device in place (keep in mind if it is NOT a clean installed client there are caveats to getting the import function to work including knowing about the compatible versions noted above, and knowing about if the device name already exists at the same name, which it is required to be named the same on both ends, then it will need to be deleted first on the target end and re-created in order to specify any of the "Device Name" tab field properties in that case, if they do differ from the original device that is. "Optional Settings" field values to match the "Domain:" and "Computer:" name properties of the original source computer), if it is the later case when you go to add the new 'Local Backup' device (read the NovaBACKUP 21 User Guide page Create a Local Backup Device) it will need to utilize the exact same "Device Name" property value as the original source computer had utilized to backup to it, with the same case sensitivity that is, otherwise the import function will not import any backup records, to then let you restore contents from those imported backups. Make sure that in the "Cloud Settings" tab, where you define the various main device properties, that the "Device Name", and "Folder or Network Path" field values are all specified with the same case sensitivity that was utilized on the original source computer's 'Local Backup' device. If even one of these items is not specified with the wrong case as to match the original source device, then the import function will not import any backup records. Note: If the 'Local Backup' device utilizes a network path then you will be required to specify the 'Network Credentials' tab settings exactly, otherwise the device when it attempts to add or save will perform a credentials check on that network path and if that fails you won't be able to add (or edit) the device.
In the 'Local Backup' tab of the 'Local Backup Configuration' dialog which is seen after you click the 'Add' button in the Device tab, and then choose the 'Local Backup' device type, both of the field values have to be specified in this dialog. The first item 'Device Name' is completely up to you what to name the device in that case, but it cannot contain non-ASCII characters and it also can't contain the same text content as the "Folder or Network Path" field value either. You can feel free to name this device whatever you want however, just remember the above naming restriction caveats, as if you do utilize non-supported characters (which we don't check for) then the device will still add but backing up to that device will fail. The naming scheme that you do go with is completely up to you and you can have multiple 'Local Backup' device type devices (such as if you have multiple external hard drives that you want to backup to, and they each connect with a different drive letter to the local client machine in that case). In this case this will be a device that we also fill in the 'Network Credentials', which is the second tab, which we will do in the next step after you are done filling in the 'Local Backup' first tab values that matched your original 'Cloud Backup' device that has the backups stored on it.
In this example for creating a new 'Local Backup' device type device, we are creating a device for a locally connected E: drive path (an external hard drive that is connected as the E: drive letter), and in that case we have to name the device, and I prefer to name it in the "Device Name" field as "Local Backup E", to indicate that it needs to be connected as the "E:" drive in that case to work and write to that local drive path, and in that case when the first backup does run to that device then a sub-folder named the same as the "Device Name" field value will be created off of the E:\ root in this example case:
The access credentials will be checked when you attempt to save the device at any point in any of the 3 tabs in that device, by clicking the OK button.
Optional: If you have specified a Network Path in the "Folder or Network Path" field in the first "Cloud Settings" tab, you will be required to also specify the fields correctly in the second "Network Credentials" tab after that. To do that read this step, or if you don't need that you can skip that 1 step. Still in the 'Local Backup' tab you can click on the 'Network Credentials' tab to fill out the "Domain name: (optional)" and "Username" and "Password" field values. Note: The field values that you do specify here will be confirmed if you attempt to save the device (or edit the device) so make sure that you have specified these settings exactly to match the target network share path, which will be case sensitive in that case. Everything has to match exactly from the old device to the new device, including these "Network Credential" tab settings, that you will create for this purpose on the new computer that you intend to perform the import on, because all of the device parameters are stored on the network share side, and hence the client has to match those when it goes to perform the Import, for the backup records to import properly, otherwise nothing will import from that network share path:
In this example we want to create a 'Local Backup' device that utilizes a network share path not a local drive path, and in that case in the first main 'Local Backup' tab we manually specifed a network path in the UNC address format (if you need to specify an already mapped network drive you can do that by using the "..." ellipsis button in this dialog to the right of that field, to browse to your currently mapped netowork drives under the user you are logged in as to Windows that the client can see), and this will require also specifying the network credentials into the second "Network Credentials" tab (otherwise the device won't be able to add when the credentials check is performed at device add time):
'Network Credentials' tab example, which is only required if the "Folder or Network Path" field value in the first main tab does utilize a network path (such as the above screenshot does), be sure to utilize the "Check credentials" button function that was first added in 21.1.1219.1, which you can use when creating the device as new or when editing the device after it was saved later, to change or confirm the credentials are valid to be able to access the already specified network share path in that case:
'Local Backup' device 'Encryption' tab, where you can specify an optional security encryption key (password) on the device itself, and note that the security encryption password can be specified and edited later at any time in the device, once the encryption option is enabled by specifying a password here the backups taken using that 'Local Backup' device will be encrypted with that security encryption key going forward, until such time that the security key is either changed in the device, or removed as in making both fields null, and at that time any backups taken to that device will NOT be encrypted after that. In regards to utilizing this 'Local Backup' device with the Import function, to import backups that were produced to this 'Local Backup' device in the past, then the security encryption key being specified correctly as to match any backups that were produced when encryption was enabled on the original 'Local Backup' device that you are now importing with, will be able to import properly if the security key is set on the new 'Local Backup' device type device to import from, but if you do not enter the security encryption key by the time you go to perform the Import function, and some of the backups were encrypted, then those encrypted backups WILL NOT import as records to see in the Restore tab in that case. It is 100% required to specify the encryption key utilized on the original 'Local Backup' device if that was enabled in the past, and now you need to Import from that device again by recreating the 'Local Backup' device either on a new system or the original system that has no NovaBACKUP saved data on it. In this case we cannot help you with recalling this encryption key, so it will be up to you to note / store the encryption key somewhere safe, as the characters themselves are encrypted again once saved in this dialog, and are not stored anywhere in the software to be able for you to know or retrieve without you writing them down. Note: The characters as they are being entered will be not be displayed to you as you enter them in to the dialog so be sure that they are correct as specified before saving the device; there is a requirement for minimum secret encryption key length = 10 and maximum = 30 as noted at the bottom of the dialog:
Note: After reading the KB article on 03/23/23 I found that it did not have the details about the 'Security' tab to enter the "Secret encryption key" value into the new 'Local Backup' device that you are meaning to import from, as without that the encrypted backups will just be "skipped" past and not imported as records if that is not done and some of the backups did have encryption on them but others did not. If all backups had encryption on them at the device level then if you were to import from the new 'Local Backup' device without having specified the "Encryption" tab "Secret encryption key" details it will result in no backups getting imported as indexed backup records from that original 'Cloud Backup' device imported in to the current Restore tab. The same no backups getting imported outcome will also occur if you DO NOT specify the 'Optional Settings' tab properly to match the 'Domain' name and 'Computer' name fields (where both field values need to be specified in ALL CAPITAL letters) there at the time of the 'Cloud Backup' device creation, that you are meaning to do the Import function with, in that no backup index records will be seen after the Import function completes. The "Device Name" and "Folder or Network Path" fields can only be specified at the time of the new 'Local Backup' device creation, and can't be edited or specified later (without recreating the 'Local Backup' device again) but the 'Network Credentials' tab field values and the 'Encryption' tab as far as the Encryption/Secret Key can always be edited later (without needing to create a new 'Local Backup' device). It is important to read this document carefully otherwise your backups either won't import, or only a partial number of them will import (like only those that were not encrypted). It is important to note that if the original 'Local Backup' device that produced the backups did utilize Encryption with at least one "Secret encryption key" that had been specified on that original drive, at the device level, and in that case if any of the backups that were produced by that original device you will need to enter the Encryption (Secret key) details in the "Encryption" tab of the new 'Local Backup' device type device that you will create now (if the new 'Local Backup' device type device is already created by that point on the new or replacement computer, and you forgot to specify the "Encryption" tab details prior, you can always do that part later, if any backups that did have Encryption on them did NOT import you need to place those details in the device and Import again, or do it all right the first time if possible with Encryption password specified in the Device prior to the first import attempt). The NovaBACKUP software in the Restore tab will also prompt you manually to specify the encryption key(s) during a Device Import in that case, if the "Secret encryption key" is not currently specified at the device level, and you attempt a Device Import it will prompt you to enter them, one by one as it is doing the Device Import in that case (if you have ever utilized more than one secret key on the original device that had produced the backups, and you had performed backups with those multiple different keys each time, then it will have to prompt multiple times for those keys to import ALL of the backup records from that original device). Both the 'Network Credentials" tab and the 'Encryption' tab details can be changed after the fact at the 'Local Backup' device level, after the device is saved and in place, unlike the first main 'Local Backup' tab details which can't be edited after the device is saved and in place. The first main 'Local Backup' tab contents also cannot be edited after the device is saved, for all fields there.
After the new 'Local Backup' device type device is added with success you will be taken back to the Home tab, you can click back on the Device tab to verify how that device looks by editing it there, notice that some of the field values can no longer be edited, such as the "Device Name" field value and the "Folder or Network Path" fields in the first main "Local Backup" tab, but all of the other tab field settings can be edited / changed later if needed. After you are done with that you can go to the Restore tab to perform the actual import, after selecting the 'Local Storage' category name under the 'Media View' listing, once that category is expanded you should see all of your 'Local Backup' device type devices in that list, if you only have one, as a fresh install of NovaBACKUP client and after adding one 'Local Backup' device would have in this example, we then select that device in the list that was just added, by first selecting the named 'Local Backup' device which was just added on the target computer, where you want to perform the import on, so you would left-click on the device to select it in the list of 'Local Backup' devices, in this case the name correlates to the 'Device Name' field value, for the device we added in the prior step, and then left-click on the 'Import...' button at the bottom right of the Restore dialog.
After selecting "Import", the "Select Device" window will open, and you should be able to choose the necessary device from the list of available options, in this case it is 100% that the device name that you select to import from in this selection dialog, matches the device name on the original source computer (where the backups were taken on). You will notice that the fields at the bottom will be greyed out when importing an 'Local Backup' device type device.
Click "OK", which will immediately begin the media import process. You will be redirected to the "Status" tab, which will show you the progress of the import.
Once the import process is completed successfully, which you will see a Status for on the Status tab, and an entry in the Logs tab relating to that Import to make sure it was successful, you can navigate back to the "Restore" tab, and expand the "Local Storage" category name area. Then expand the 'Local Backup' device type device that you had imported to and you will now be able to select each media set, and browse the file-structure, to help determine which file(s) you may want to restore: