Restoring All of Your Files for Carbonite Safe

Before you can start, you will need to download and install the Carbonite Safe software on the computer that will receive the restored files.

From the target computer, click the button below to download the Carbonite Safe installer.

Download Carbonite Safe

Windows 7 and higher | For Carbonite Safe Basic, Plus and Prime plans

Once the Carbonite file downloads, you can use your web browser to open the Carbonite setup file.

• For Google Chrome: Click the Carbonite setup file from the bottom left of the web browser.
• For Mozilla Firefox: Click Save File and open the file from the down arrow in the top right of the web browser.
• For Microsoft Edge: Click Run at the bottom of the web browser.
• For Internet Explorer: Click Run at the bottom of the web browser.

After the file is opened, sign in with your existing Carbonite email and password and follow the steps in the next section.

The Restore Manager will walk you through restoring your files.

Before you start restoring files, you will need to select the restore location and choose the user(s) on your computer that Carbonite will restore.

Step 2a: Select Restore Location

You will be prompted to choose the drives from your backup that you would like to restore.

After making your selection, click Continue to proceed.

If you have multiple drives to restore from, you can use the Choose a location option to specify the restore location for both drives on the current computer.

After making your selection, click Continue to proceed.

Step 2b: Select User Location

After you select which drives will be restored, you can select the users that will receive the restored files.

For users that don’t exist on the current computer or users that are not configured to your preferences, click Choose a location or Change to select the option that best fits your scenario.

• Username – This is the user account that will receive the restored files from Carbonite.
• Create a Windows user account - This will create the Windows username with the same name from your previous computer.
• Choose a different folder - This will restore the files to a folder of your choice on your new computer.
• Don't get these files back - This will not restore the data from that Windows user account. Files from this user will be removed from Carbonite after 30 days of backup on the current computer.

After making your selection, click Continue to proceed.

Step 2c: Start Restore

You will be presented with your restore preferences. If you need to make any changes, click View details.

After you review and are satisfied with your choices, click Start getting files back.

Carbonite will start restoring your files.

During this time, you can continue to use your computer or leave it after you configure Windows for the restore.

Before you start doing other things or leave your computer while Carbonite restore your files, it is highly recommended that you configure Windows Power & Sleep Settings and Windows Updates to avoid a restore interruption.

Additionally, it is best to use a wired connection to restore at the quickest speeds.

Step 3a: Configure Windows Power & Sleep Settings

Carbonite cannot continue restoring files if your computer goes to sleep or loses power. For these reasons, we recommend leaving your computer plugged in and configure the settings so that Windows doesn’t automatically put your computer asleep.

In Windows 10, you can configure the Power & Sleep Settings by following the instructions below:

1. Right-click the Windows logo and click System.
2. From the left sidebar, click Power & sleep.
3. Under the Sleep section, set When plugged in, turn off after to Never.

For information on other Windows operating systems, please refer to Hibernation and Sleep Mode.

Step 3b: Configure Windows Updates

Like the previous section, Carbonite cannot continue restoring files if Windows automatically restarts your computer for a Windows Update. For this reason, we recommend temporarily pausing Windows Updates.

In Windows 10, you can configure Windows Updates by following the instructions below:

1. Click the Windows logo to open the Start Menu.
2. Click Update & Security.
3. Click Advanced options.
4. Under the Pause updates section, use the dropdown menu to select the date.

Generally, we recommend pausing Windows Updates for 1 week after the day you start the restore, which should give you plenty of time for the restore to complete. However, if you have a large backup or a slower internet connection, please extend the date accordingly.

For information on other Windows operating systems, please refer to Configuring Windows Update.

While the restore is in progress, you can continue to use your computer or leave it after you configure Windows for the restore. If you exited out of the restore status window, you can re-open it at any time from the Windows taskbar.

1. Click the Show hidden icons arrow near your Windows clock.
   
2. Right-click the Carbonite icon and select View Restore Status...
   You will not see this option if the restore is completed, paused or stopped.
   

The restore progress of the current file and overall restore will be displayed.

After the restore completes, you will need to exit Recover Mode and select any additional files for backup.

Step 5a: Exiting the Restore/Recover Mode

After the restore completes, a confirmation window will appear asking if you want to resume backing up, which will exit Recover Mode.

• If everything seems to be in order, click Continue Backing up to back up the new computer.
• If you are having trouble finding restored files, importing the restored files with programs, or need to exit Recover Mode to continue backing, check out our Carbonite Post-Restore Checklist.

With the restore complete and your files back, your Carbonite subscription was successfully transferred, and Carbonite will begin backing up your current computer.

Step 5b: Selecting Additional Files for Backup

With Carbonite backing up, use this opportunity to review your backup selections with the Carbonite Backup Drive. You can select (or reselect) data that was associated with the previous computer to prevent future data loss.

Below is a list of locations that you should double-check are selected for backup.

• Files outside of Carbonite’s default locations (outside of C:\Users)
• Files on an external hard drive (needs to be reselected)
• Video files (excluded on Safe Basic plans by default)

After you select this data for backup, Carbonite will back up the remaining files and keep your current computer protected.