It is possible to temporarily attach a backup to your server as a second disk. This allows you to view or recover individual files within the backup, without having to perform a full restore.


A step-by-step guide showing you how to do this is provided below.


Attaching the Backup in mPanel

  • Go to mPanel and click "Manage" for the VPS you want to attach a backup to.
  • Click on the Backups link in the top menu.
  • Under Existing Backups, select the backup you want to attach and click on Attach Selected.


Mounting the Backup with Windows


When using a Windows VPS, this is all you need to do. The VPS will be restarted, after which you should connect with Remote Desktop: the backup will appear as a second drive (usually D:). Simply view or copy the files from the second drive as required, and then detach the backup within mPanel.

Mounting the Backup with Linux


When using Linux, even though the backup is attached to the VPS, the data will initially not appear in the filesystem since the backup drive has not yet been mounted. To do so, log into the VPS with SSH and enter the following command:

 

sudo mount -o ro /dev/vdb1 /mnt

 

You can now view or copy the backup files from the /mnt directory.


Before detaching the backup from mPanel you should either restart the VPS or enter the following command to unmount the backup:

sudo umount /mnt


Detaching the Backup


When you are finished with the mounted backup, return to the Backups area in mPanel and click on the Detach Backup button.