1. Open Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Management Studio, log in, and navigate to the database you want to restore.
   
2. Select and right click the database you want to restore. A context menu will appear.

   Note: If you want to restore your backup file(s) to a new database, right click any database in the list. You will have the opportunity to select an existing database or create a new database further on in the procedure.

   

3. Select Tasks, then Restore and Database... in the context menu (see above). The Restore Database window will open.
   
4. Check the name in the “To database” field. You can select an existing database to which you want to restore, or you can type the name of a new database in this field. Restoring to an existing database will replace any information in the current database with the information from the database backup files.
5. Select the “From database” radio button and select a database from the list. All databases for which backup files are created by your database maintenance plan should be listed here. Once you have selected a database, existing full and incremental (transaction log) backup files for the selected database will appear in the list below.
   
6. Select the full and incremental database backups you want to restore from. Selecting all incremental backups will, by default, restore your database to the latest available point in time for which there is an incremental (transaction log) backup file. If, however, you want to restore to an earlier point in time, deselect the incremental (transaction log) backups that are more recent than the time from which you want to restore and proceed with the following steps.
7. If you are attempting to restore to an existing database: Select Options in the Page list on the left and enable the “Overwrite the existing database” checkbox.
8. If you are attempting to restore to an existing database: Select Options in the Page list on the left and browse to and choose the .mdf and .ldf files you want to overwrite with the restored database. By default, the path information will point to the original .mdf and .ldf files for which the backup was created and must be changed.
9. Click OK. A progress indicator will appear in the lower left hand corner of the Restore Database window.
   
   When the database restoration is complete, the Complete window will appear.
   
10. Click OK in the Complete window. The window will close and return you to the MS SQL Server 2005 Management Studio.

If you have restored to an existing database, test the functionality of your Workgroups applications to ensure that everything is functioning as expected. If you have restored to a new database, you will need to create a database link in the Application Server and attach the database to any relevant MetaData Console snap-ins before you will be able to log in and test the database functionality with your Workgroups applications. See the Application Server User Guide and the MetaConsole Guide for more information.