Restore single files from image and VM backups
What it's for
Granular restore lets you pull individual files and folders out of a Disk Image, Hyper-V, VMware or Proxmox backup without restoring the whole disk or virtual machine first. Use it when a client needs a few files back from a server or VM that you protect with an image backup.
Note: Partners can white-label the backup app and the Web Portal, so window titles and product names may show your own brand instead of the names used here.
Before you start
- Check the backup type. Granular restore works for these Protected Item types:
- Disk Image (Windows and Linux)
- Microsoft Hyper-V (VHDX and AVHDX disks, not classic VHD). With All VM snapshots backups, checkpoint layers are available too.
- VMware vSphere
- Proxmox (guest VMs)
- Check the partition layout and filesystem. GPT and MBR disks work. NTFS, FAT, EXT4 and XFS filesystems work. ReFS and exFAT don't. For Windows Dynamic Disks, Storage Spaces, Linux LVM2 or MD RAID, granular restore only works if the backup selected the resulting volume rather than the underlying disks.
- Pick the device to restore to. Files are written to a folder on a device that's signed in to the client's user account. It doesn't have to be the original machine or the same operating system: you can restore files from an EXT4 image onto a Windows device, for example.
- Make sure there's room on the destination disk for the files you restore.
Steps
In the Web Portal
- Go to Management Console > Users > [user] > Devices, find the device you want to restore to, and check it's Online.
- Click Actions... on its row, and on the Device tab click Restore....
- Pick the Storage Vault that holds the backup and click Next >.
- Expand the device and the image or VM Protected Item, pick the snapshot (backup date and time) you want, and click Next >. For a backup from another device, expand that device instead.
- Choose the Granular restore method and click Next >.
- Browse into the disk, partition (or VM) and folders, and tick the files and folders you need. Loading the file list can take a moment on large images.
- Choose an output folder on the device. We recommend a new folder, for example
C:\Restore\2026-09-26, so nothing on the device is overwritten. - Start the restore and follow it in Job Logs.
In the Magnus Box Application
The steps are the same: click Restore, pick the vault and the image or VM Protected Item, expand it to choose a snapshot, then choose Granular restore as the restore method, select the files and choose a destination folder.
Verify it worked
- The restore job shows Success in Job Logs.
- Open a couple of the restored files on the device to check they're complete.
If granular restore isn't offered
If the backup type, disk layout or filesystem isn't supported, restore the whole disk image as files first (VMDK, VHDX or IMG, depending on the backup type), then open it with a third-party tool:
- 7-Zip (Windows, macOS and Linux) opens VMDK descriptors and the individual partition files, and reads NTFS, FAT and EXT filesystems. If the image has no partition table, open the individual partition files instead of the descriptor. Keep 7-Zip up to date, because older versions have limited disk image support.
- DiskInternals Linux Reader (Windows) can mount a VMDK file as a drive letter, and reads Windows and Linux filesystems.
Troubleshooting
- Granular restore is slow: reading files out of an image takes more work than a normal file restore. If a client regularly needs single files back, add a Files and Folders Protected Item for their data as well. See Best Practices.
- A partition shows no files: the filesystem isn't supported (for example ReFS), or the backup selected the underlying LVM or RAID disks. Use the workaround above.
- Symlinks are missing from an EXT4 restore: symbolic links aren't restored by granular restore.
- The device doesn't appear or isn't online: see Windows client only shows as 'Offline' in user-profile 'Devices' tab.
Still stuck? Email support@magnusbox.com with the username, the device you're restoring to, the Protected Item and the snapshot date.