After a Windows OS reinstall
How to reconnect a PC to the panel after a clean Windows install and restore data from backup.
What happens after reinstall
Section titled “What happens after reinstall”A clean Windows install removes the agent and its credentials. The device record in the panel usually remains — often offline, with the last heartbeat from before the reinstall. This is not “losing the device from RMM”; you only need to install the agent again.
- The panel keeps history, policies, and links on the same device record.
- Cloud / SMB backups do not disappear with the local disk — if the destination was off that PC.
- This is not one-click bare-metal of the whole Windows system — you restore files (and SQL databases separately if you have those jobs).
Reconnect to the same record
Section titled “Reconnect to the same record”The system matches a device by company (tenant) and computer name (hostname). Keep the same name as in the panel, install the MSI downloaded for that company — the agent should rejoin the existing device.
- In RMM → Endpoints, note the exact hostname (e.g. DESKTOP-ABC).
- After Windows setup, set the same computer name (system properties / rename) and reboot if Windows requires it.
- Download the agent MSI from the panel for the correct company and install as administrator.
- Wait a few minutes for heartbeat and refresh the list — status should return to online on the same device.
- The MSI must be from the same company the PC belonged to before.
- A different hostname = a new device in the panel; the old one stays offline (clean up the duplicate or revert the name).
- If it stays offline: network to the instance, agent service, AV — then the “Agent offline” checklist.
Restore data from backup
Section titled “Restore data from backup”When the agent is online, open RMM → Backup & recovery → Restore. Pick a successful run from the old machine and restore to this device (or another online PC in the same company). Optionally set a custom target path.
- Confirm the target PC has an online agent.
- Open /rmm/backup-recovery?tab=restore and choose a run with status success.
- Select the target device and path (or leave the default).
- Start restore and check the run history plus the files on disk.
- S3 / platform storage / SMB / NAS → restore to another PC usually works.
- Destination “local disk on the old PC only” → the file is not on the new machine; the panel cannot move that copy.
- AES encryption: panel restore usually uses the job password. MSSQL from cloud: download → decrypt outside the panel → RESTORE in SQL Server.
Duplicates and cleanup
Section titled “Duplicates and cleanup”If you see two similar PCs after install, the hostname usually changed or the MSI was from another company. Keep one active record; delete the other only when you are sure it is a reinstall duplicate — do not delete a device that still holds needed backup history before you finish restore.
- Prefer fixing the hostname and reinstalling over keeping a permanent second PC.
- Backup history is tied to devices / jobs — restore-to-device also works cross-device within the same company.
- For mass imaging, avoid cloning a disk that already has the agent without a clean MSI procedure — conflicts are easy.