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Restoring Backups Made Before NovaBACKUP 22, Including .nbd Files

Restore backups made with NovaBACKUP 21.x or earlier, including legacy .nbd file backups, after upgrading to NovaBACKUP 22.

Applies to: NovaBACKUP PC Agent and NovaBACKUP Server Agent, version 22, with backups made by NovaBACKUP 21.x or earlier.

After you upgrade to NovaBACKUP 22, your earlier backups can still be restored. Where you restore them depends on the kind of backup. This article shows how to tell which kind you have, and how to restore each one, including legacy file backups stored as .nbd files.

Which kind of backup do you have?

Your backupHow to recognize itRestore it with
Backup on a Local Backup or Cloud Backup device, made with NovaBACKUP 20.x or 21.xThe device is listed on the Devices page in NovaBACKUP 22NovaBACKUP 22, Restore page
Legacy file backupFiles ending in .nbd, for example Daily-diff_20261027083411.nbdLegacy NovaBACKUP UI
Legacy image backupCreated by an image backup job in 21.x or earlierLegacy NovaBACKUP UI, or legacy boot media

Restore from a Local Backup or Cloud Backup device

These backups are listed on the Restore page of NovaBACKUP 22, like backups made with NovaBACKUP 22. See Restoring Files and Folders. On a new or rebuilt computer, import them first. See Restoring to a New Computer: Importing Your Backups.

Restore a legacy file backup (.nbd)

Prerequisites

  • A computer that was upgraded in place from NovaBACKUP 21.x to NovaBACKUP 22. A clean installation of NovaBACKUP 22 does not include the Legacy NovaBACKUP UI. See the section for clean installations below.
  • Access to the drive or network share that holds the .nbd files

Step 1: Open the Legacy NovaBACKUP UI

  1. In NovaBACKUP 22, select About in the menu.
  2. Select Open legacy interface. The Legacy NovaBACKUP UI opens in its own window.

Step 2: Find the backup

  1. In the Legacy NovaBACKUP UI, open the Restore tab.
  2. If the backup is listed, continue with Step 3.
  3. If it is not listed, select Import, browse to the folder that holds the .nbd file, select the file, and select OK. When the import has finished, go back to the Restore tab.

Note: If you cannot see the .nbd file in the browse dialog, turn on File name extensions in File Explorer (View > Show > File name extensions).

Step 3: Choose where the files are restored

By default, files are restored to their original location, the folder they were backed up from. To restore them to another folder:

  1. On the Restore tab, select Settings.
  2. On the Restore page, under Restore to, select Restore file(s) to alternate location.
  3. Select Browse, choose the target folder, and select OK.
  4. Under When restoring a file that already exists on my computer, choose whether existing files are overwritten.

Important: Check this setting before every restore. If you leave Restore file(s) to original location selected, the files are restored to the folder they came from, and existing files there can be overwritten.

Step 4: Restore the files

  1. On the Restore tab, select the files and folders you want to restore.
  2. Select Restore.
  3. When the restore has finished, check the files in the location you chose in Step 3.

On a clean installation of NovaBACKUP 22

A clean installation does not include the Legacy NovaBACKUP UI, so .nbd files and legacy image backups cannot be restored from NovaBACKUP 22. Use one of these options:

  • Restore the backup on another computer that runs NovaBACKUP 21.x, or that was upgraded in place to NovaBACKUP 22.
  • Install NovaBACKUP 21.3 on this computer instead of NovaBACKUP 22. Your NovaBACKUP 22 license key also activates 21.x. See Going Back from NovaBACKUP 22 to NovaBACKUP 21.3.

For legacy image backups, see Clean Install vs. Upgrade, and Reaching Legacy Image Data.

Backups from older versions

NovaBACKUP 22 is tested with backups made by NovaBACKUP 20.x and 21.x. Backups made with NovaBACKUP 19.x or earlier may restore from the Legacy NovaBACKUP UI, but this is not tested. If you rely on such backups, run a new backup with NovaBACKUP 22 so you have a current, supported copy of your data.

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