---
title: "Restore files from a recovery point"
description: "Browse a CDP Backup recovery point and restore the files and folders you need to the same node or to another node."
content_type: "how-to"
product: "cdp-backup"
platform: "MyAccount"
url: "/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/restore-files-from-a-recovery-point/"
topic: ["restore"]
relationships: {"requires":["/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/turn-on-cdp-backup/"]}
---

# Restore files from a recovery point

A restore copies files and folders from one of the node's recovery points back onto a node. You
pick exactly what to bring back, and the rest of the node stays as it is. You can restore to the
source node, the one the backup came from, or to another of your nodes.

The files go into a folder you choose on the node: a new folder MyAccount names, or a folder you
type. You then move them to where they belong.

## Before you begin

- The source node is running. You can restore its files only while it runs. For a kept backup of
  a deleted node, see
  [Keep backups after deleting a node](/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/keep-backups-after-deleting-a-node/).
- The node you restore to has enough free disk space for the files. A restore fails when the disk
  runs out of space.
- If you restore to another node, its first backup has finished: its **Backup Status** reads
  **Available**. The source node is always listed in **Restore on Node**.
- For an encrypted backup, you have its passphrase; you need it to browse or restore the backup.

## Pick the recovery point

1. In **Manage CDP Backups**, click the node and open its **Backup Recovery Points** tab. Each
   recovery point is listed with its ID and the date and time it was created, newest first.
2. Find the recovery point whose files you want back. Each one holds all the node's backed-up data
   at that moment. You need only that one.
3. Open its **Actions** and click **Browse** or **Restore**, or click its date. **Browse Recovery Point** opens.
4. (Encrypted backup only) Enter the passphrase in **Passphrase** and click **Submit**. A wrong
   passphrase shows "Passphrase provided is incorrect. Please provide correct passphrase to
   proceed."

## Select the files

**Browse Recovery Point** opens at `/`, the top of the node's disk.

1. Click a folder to open it, or type a path in **Location** and click **Go** to jump there.
2. Check the files and folders you want.
3. Click **Restore Selected**.

Only the items checked in the folder on screen are restored. To bring back files from two
different folders, restore each folder in turn.

## Choose where the files go

Check the node and the folder before you click **Restore**. Once a restore starts, it runs to the
end.

1. In **Restore on Node**, choose the node to restore to. No node is chosen for you. The source
   node is marked **(Source Node)**. The list also has your other nodes in the same region whose
   first backup has finished, with the same kind of operating system: a Linux backup restores to a
   Linux node, a Windows backup to a Windows node.
2. Under **Location**, choose where on that node the files go:
   - **Default** writes them into a new folder under `/e2e-backup-restore/` on Linux, or
     `c:\e2e-backup-restore\` on Windows, named after the date and time of the restore in UTC.
     **Path** shows the folder. Choose this for most restores: it leaves everything
     already on the node as it is.
   - **Alternate** writes them into a folder you type in **Path**, as an absolute path such as
     `/home/restore`, or `D:\restore` on Windows.

     Files already in that folder stay as they are. If a file with the same name is already there,
     the restore skips it. MyAccount still warns "Proceed with caution, as making changes may
     overwrite your existing files." To get back every file you selected, choose an empty folder or
     a new one.

     Restore into a folder, never to `/` itself. Restoring to `/` copies the backed-up operating
     system files onto the node and can fill its disk.

     A path that is not absolute gets "Please provide correct restore path location."

3. Click **Restore**. With **Default**, the restore starts at once. With **Alternate**, check the
   path shown, and click **Confirm Restore**.

You see "Your backup restoration is in process." The files arrive under their own names, relative to
the folder you browsed: restoring `a.txt` and `sub` while browsing `/root/app` gives `a.txt` and
`sub/` in the restore folder. To undo a restore, delete the restored files from the folder.

## Check that the restore finished

A restore takes longer the more data you select. Open the **Restore Task History** tab of the
source node. Each restore is listed there with its start time, end time, and duration, and a
restore to another node also shows that node's name. **Task Status** reads **Finished** once it
completes.

E2E emails the account owner when the restore ends: "Backup Restoration completed for your Node",
or "Backup Restoration failed for your Node" if it fails. The "failed" email also arrives for a
restore that reads **Finished** but skipped a file that was already there; see
[The restore email says it failed, but the restore reads Finished](/myaccount/cdp-backup/troubleshooting/cdp-backup/#the-restore-email-says-it-failed-but-the-restore-reads-finished).

If **Task Status** reads **Failed** or **Warning**, check the restored files and the email E2E
sends when the restore ends. See
[The restore failed](/myaccount/cdp-backup/troubleshooting/cdp-backup/#the-restore-failed).

## Move the files into place

On the node, copy or move the restored files from the restore folder to where they belong. To bring
a database or a website back, also check file permissions, and restart its
services.

Move every file you need out of `/e2e-backup-restore` or `c:\e2e-backup-restore`. After a
restore, the source node's backups leave that folder out. On Linux, only root can open the folder a **Default** restore creates.

You now have the files back on the node. To keep this recovery point from being merged away, see
[Lock a recovery point](/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/lock-a-recovery-point/). To restore the files
of a node you have deleted, see
[Keep backups after deleting a node](/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/keep-backups-after-deleting-a-node/).
If the restore does not start or fails, see
[Troubleshooting CDP Backup](/myaccount/cdp-backup/troubleshooting/cdp-backup/).