Backblaze Restore: A Step-by-Step Guide for Home Users

Restoring your data from Backblaze is a straightforward process that you can do yourself. Backblaze allows you to restore files up to 30 days in the past for free.

To get started, you'll need to log in to your Backblaze account and select the "Restore" option from the dashboard. From there, you can choose the files you want to restore.

Backblaze offers two restore options: restore to a new folder on your computer and restore to a new hard drive. You can choose the option that best fits your needs.

You can restore your files from Backblaze using the Web interface or a USB flash drive or hard drive. The Web option is best for restoring a small number of files, and it's free, but it's limited to files under 20 GB in size.

To start the restore process, simply log into your Backblaze account and select the "View/Restore Files" option from the menu on the left. The Web option is the default restore method, so you can then use the folder tree at the bottom of the Web page to select the folders and files you want to restore.

Backblaze will prepare the zip files with the selected files and notify you by email when they're ready for download. The notification will also inform you if your download will be too large, in which case you might want to consider using a USB option instead.

Backup Options are crucial for ensuring your data is safe. You can view a detailed report of your backed-up data in the Reports tab, where it's organized by type, such as documents, photos, and music.

The Reports tab provides a clear breakdown of your backed-up files, including storage space usage. This is especially useful for monitoring and managing your backups.

The Performance tab is another valuable resource, offering technical specs for your backup, including last transfer speed and blocked network connections. This information can help you troubleshoot any issues.

You can schedule your backups to occur at specific times using the Schedule tab. Options include Continuous, Daily, and Only when I click Backup Now. Continuous monitoring is a great feature for those who want to ensure their system is always backed up.

Files Scheduled for Backup is another useful feature that shows which files are new to your system since your last backup. This helps you stay on top of your backups and ensure nothing gets missed.

Here are the main backup options available:

Using Backblaze's Downloader utility is a viable option for downloading your restored files. This utility is a portable application that you can extract anywhere on your desktop.

To use the Downloader, you'll need to enter your Backblaze login information after running the executable. The utility will then download the last zip file prepared for your account.

The Downloader displays a progress bar during the downloading activity, as well as the amount transferred and the transfer speed. This can give you an idea of how long the download will take.

The Backblaze Downloader took 19 minutes to download a 3.39 GB zip file, which worked out to an average download speed of 25.72 mb/s (3.2 MB/s). This was slower than using the Web browser to download the zip file.

You're already protected with a solid Cloud backup of your Windows Server through Backblaze, but that's just the beginning. You currently have two locations with one off-site, which is a good start.

However, to have a truly complete backup, you should follow the 3-2-1 rule, which recommends three copies of your data, stored in two locations, with one of them off-site. Backblaze Cloud storage is one of those locations.

You can easily comply with the 3-2-1 rule by adding another backup target, independent of your Cloud backup, using FullBack Server. This allows you to store an additional copy of your data locally.

Typically, the local backup would use local network storage, such as a NAS or SAN. But you can use other storage options as well, as long as you have enough space to store your files.

Having a local backup is a game-changer for speed and efficiency in recovery scenarios. In most cases, your local backup will be available and faster to restore from than your Cloud backup.

Restoring files with Backblaze is a straightforward process.

You can restore files from the Backblaze Web interface, which is simple to use. From the Web interface, select the "View/Restore Files" option and choose the folders and files you want to restore.

Once you've selected your files, click the "Continue with Restore" button and Backblaze will prepare the zip files for you. If your download will be too large, Backblaze will notify you and recommend using the USB flash drive or USB hard drive options instead.

You can expect to wait around 10 minutes for Backblaze to prepare your restore. After that, you'll receive an email from Backblaze indicating that your zip file is ready to be downloaded.

You can download the zip file using the download button on the Web page or with the Backblaze Downloader utility. The Downloader utility is a portable application that you can extract anywhere on your desktop.

To verify the files you've restored, you can open them to ensure they can be opened without any issues. You can also create a SHA256 hash of each restored and original file and compare the hashes to see if they are identical.

Here's an example of how to verify your restored files:

In this example, the files restored were 1,417 JPEG and RAW image files, totaling 3.6 GB in size. The files represented a very small sample size compared to the total backed up.

Verifying the integrity of your restored files is crucial to ensure they're usable. A 10-year-old directory restoration test revealed that 1,417 files were restored, with a total size of 3,636,151,770 bytes (3.6 GB).

The restored files were mostly JPEG files, which are already compressed, resulting in a zip file size close to the uncompressed size. Some RAW image files from a 2006 Canon G2 camera were also included in the restoration.

To verify the files, two tests were performed: randomly opening image files to ensure they could be opened without issues, and creating a SHA256 hash of each restored and original file to compare the hashes. This ensured that the restored files matched the originals byte-for-byte.

The tests showed that all 1,417 files were matched successfully, with no files missing from the original files. This is a testament to the reliability of Backblaze restore.

Verifying files is a crucial step in ensuring that your restored files are exactly what you need. This involves checking for any issues or discrepancies in the restored files.

To verify files, you can open them randomly to ensure they can be opened without any issues. This was the case with 1,417 files restored from Backblaze, which were all opened without any problems. The files were JPEG and RAW images, and even displaying thumbnails in Windows Explorer worked without any issues.

A more thorough verification process involves creating a SHA256 hash of each restored and original file and comparing the hashes. This was done using a small application created to generate and compare hashes. After several minutes of processing, the application indicated that all 1,417 files were matched successfully and no file was missing from the original files.

The restored files were also checked for any issues or discrepancies by comparing the hashes of the restored and original files. The hashes were identical for all files, indicating that the restoration was 100% successful. This is a key aspect of verifying files, as it ensures that the restored files are an exact duplicate of the original files.

You've got a deadline and just need your files back in time for your presentation, and you've got options to get them back quickly.

Using the Web interface is a simple and straightforward way to restore your files. You can log into your Backblaze account and select the “View/Restore Files” option from the menu on the left.

For small restores under 20 GB, the Web option is usually the best choice. Backblaze will prepare the zip files with the selected files and notify you by email when they're ready for download.

It's worth noting that the Web option is mainly for restoring a small number of files, so if you need to restore a large amount of data, you might want to consider using a USB flash drive or USB hard drive instead.

After selecting your files and clicking the “Continue with Restore” button, Backblaze will prepare the zip files and send you an email when they're ready for download. You can then return to your account and download the zip file using the download button on the Web page or the Backblaze Downloader utility.

You'll need a new hard drive to replace the failed one. Buy a hard drive of the same type and size you had, or upgrade to a drive with more capacity or an SSD, which is faster and more reliable.

SSDs cost more, but they're worth it for their speed and durability. They work the same as a hard disk drive and will likely work with the same connector.

Be sure to check the drive dimensions and connector compatibility with your computer system. The drive connector should match your computer's SATA, PCIe, or other connector type.

Here are some options to consider:

Backblaze performed well in our assessment, with an upload time of under a minute for a 1 GB folder. This is a great result, especially considering our average internet connection speed.

The upload time of 39 seconds is impressive, and it's even more impressive when you consider that some other providers took significantly longer to upload the same file. For example, IDrive took 54 seconds to upload the same 1 GB folder, while Carbonite took a whopping 153 seconds.

Here's a comparison of the performance of different providers:

Backblaze also offers three options for restoring files: direct download, a USB flash drive, and a subset or all of your data. Since the first two options are sufficient for restoring either a subset or all of your data, we won't be looking at the USB flash drive option.

Backblaze performed well in our assessment, uploading a 1 GB folder in less than a minute.

The upload time was 39 seconds, which is impressive considering our average Internet connection speed of 12 MB/s.

The download time was slightly more than two minutes, taking 139 seconds on our 30 MB/s download speed connection.

Here's a comparison of the performance of various providers in our assessment:

Backblaze didn't consume a large amount of CPU or RAM during the assessment, which is a plus.

Backblaze offers three options for restoring files, but I won't be looking at the USB flash drive option since it has a maximum file restore of 128 GB.

The two options I'll be testing allow for restoring either a subset or all of my data.

Backblaze provides the option to restore files using a USB flash drive, but I'll be focusing on the other two methods.

Backblaze allows you to save unlimited versions of your backups, but only if they're not older than 30 days. This is a great feature, as it gives you plenty of options for restoring your files.

You can extend this feature to one year for an extra $2 per month, which is a small price to pay for the added security. However, if you want to store your backups permanently, you'll have to pay an extra fee based on the amount of storage space needed.

The ability to save multiple backup versions is one of Backblaze's greatest strengths, and it's a big selling point for the service. It's also worth noting that Backblaze offers plenty of options for backing up and restoring files.

However, the process of excluding specific files and folders manually can be frustrating, as you have to either upload your entire drive or do it manually. This is a bit of a pain, and it's not as flexible as some other providers like SpiderOak ONE and IDrive.