How to Back Up and Restore IIS

Back Up the IIS Configuration

To back up your IIS configuration, follow these steps:

1. In the IIS snap-in on the local computer, click the Computer icon under Internet Information Services.
2. Click Action and select Backup/Restore Configuration.
3. Click Create backup, choose a name for your backup file, and then click OK. NOTE: The default location of the backup is the %SystemRoot%\system32\inetsrv\MetaBack folder. If you want to save your backup file to another location, you can copy the file from this default location to another location. Keep a copy in the default location to allow for an easy restoration.
4. Click Close. NOTE: This backup method provides a way to restore only your IIS settings, not your content files. This backup method does not work if you reinstall your operating system. Backup files cannot be used to restore an IIS configuration on other computers that are running Windows 2000.

Restoring the IIS Configuration Without an IIS Reinstallation

To restore your IIS configuration if you have not removed and reinstalled IIS, follow these steps:

1. In the IIS snap-in on the local computer, click the Computer icon under Internet Information Services.
2. Click Action and select Backup/Restore Configuration.
3. In the Configuration Backup Name dialog box, select a backup file and click Restore. When you are asked if you want to restore your configuration settings, click Yes.

Restoring the IIS Configuration After an IIS Reinstallation

To restore your IIS configuration after you have removed and reinstalled IIS, follow these steps:

1. In the IIS snap-in on the local computer, click the Computer icon under Internet Information Services.
2. Click Action and select Backup/Restore Configuration.
3. In the Configuration Backup Name dialog box, select the backup file that you created and click Restore. Although an error message states that the restoration has failed, a portion of your backed-up configuration is restored.
4. At a command prompt, type the following: cscript.exe X:\InetPub\AdminScripts\Adsutil.vbs enum w3svcwhere X is the letter of the drive on which IIS is installed. From the listed settings, locate the WamUserName and the associated WAMUserPass value.NOTE: To use the Adsutil.vbs utility, you must have Windows Script Host installed.
5. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Click Local User Managers and click Users.
6. Double-click the IWAM_computername user account. Type the WAMUserPass value that you retrieved from the previous step and click OK.
7. In the Configuration Backup Name dialog box, select the backup file that you created and click Restore. This fully restores your configuration.NOTE: If you change the identity of your out-of-process applications, those applications revert back to the previous IWAM user name.