Bare metal restore definition
A bare metal restore is the act of restoring a computer system from scratch — starting with an entirely empty (or "bare") hardware setup. A bare metal restore transfers not only the data, but also the environment of the target system, including its operating system and any other software necessary for operations.
Bare metal restores are typically used to recreate working environments on new machines when the previous device suffers catastrophic hardware failure. They can also clone working environments when organizations deploy new hardware. This way, the users can carry over their work with only minimal interruptions.
See also: backup (n.), backup as a service, data backup
How bare metal restores work
The bare metal restore process typically begins with the preparation of the new hardware, which has no pre-installed operating system or software. This hardware must be compatible with the software and data that will be transferred from the previous device.
The machine is booted using a recovery medium (such as a CD, DVD, USB drive, or network location) containing a minimal operating system environment and the restoration software. The software is responsible for guiding the overall bare metal restore process, taking over once the system has finished booting.
The restoration software partitions and formats the hard drives of the bare metal system, then begins copying data over from the backup source (like an external hard drive or cloud storage). This includes the entire operating system, system settings, installed applications, and all user data — the bare metal restore is intended to replicate the exact state of the original system.
