Restoring Data

Breeze supports several restore methods depending on what you need to recover — from a single file to a complete system.

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Browsing Snapshots

Before restoring, you can inspect what a snapshot contains:

1. Go to Operations > Backup.
2. Find the device in the job list or device backup tab.
3. Open the Snapshot Browser and select a snapshot from the dropdown.
4. Navigate the file tree — expand folders to see their contents, including file names, sizes, and modification dates.

Tip

Always browse a snapshot before restoring to confirm the files you need are present. This is especially useful when deciding between a full restore and a selective one.

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Restore Types

Type	What it recovers	When to use
Full restore	Everything in the snapshot	Replacing a failed drive or rebuilding a system
Selective restore	Specific files and folders you choose	Recovering accidentally deleted files or a specific directory
Bare metal recovery	Full system to new hardware	Replacing a dead machine entirely. See Bare Metal Recovery

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Running a Restore

Full Restore

1. Open the Restore Wizard from a snapshot or device backup tab.
2. Select the snapshot to restore from.
3. Choose Full Restore.
4. Choose the destination:
   • Original location — restores files to their original paths on the same device
   • Alternate path — specify a different directory (e.g., /var/restore or D:\Restored)
5. Optionally change the target device — you can restore to a different device in the same organization.
6. Review the summary and click Restore.

Selective Restore

1. Open the Restore Wizard.
2. Select the snapshot.
3. Choose Selective Restore.
4. Browse the file tree and check the boxes next to the files and folders you want to recover.
5. Choose the destination path.
6. Review and click Restore.

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Monitoring a Restore

After you start a restore, the job appears in restore history and on the target device’s Backup tab. You can track it from:

• The Backup dashboard’s Recent Jobs section
• The target device’s Backup tab

Completed restore jobs show the final status, restored file count, restored byte count, and any structured warnings or errors reported by the agent.

If the target device is offline, Breeze rejects the restore request immediately instead of creating a pending restore that cannot run.

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Cross-Device Restore

You can restore a snapshot to a different device than the one it was taken from. Both devices must be in the same organization. This is useful when:

• The original device is offline or decommissioned
• You need to clone data to a replacement machine
• You want to test a restore without touching the production device

In the Restore Wizard, change the target device in the destination step.

Cross-device restores also require the destination device to be online when you start the restore. If Breeze cannot queue the restore command, the restore job is marked failed with the dispatch error instead of remaining stuck in a pending state.

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Restore Considerations

• Existing files. A full restore to the original location overwrites files at the same paths. Use an alternate path if you want to compare before replacing.
• Permissions. Restored files retain the permissions from the snapshot. If restoring to a different device or OS, permissions may need adjustment.
• Open files. On Windows, files locked by running applications may fail to restore. Stop the relevant services first, or restore to an alternate path.
• Disk space. Ensure the target device has enough free space for the restore. The snapshot’s total size is shown in the Restore Wizard summary.