IT and office systems · IY-02

Backup Run and Restore Test Log

A free printable backup log sheet — each run with its result and destination, and a separate table for restore tests showing a file actually came back.

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One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.

Print it and write on it

A4 44 kB US Letter 44 kB

Fill it in type and save

A4 100 kB US Letter 100 kB

The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.

What this sheet is for

Know that the backup ran, and prove a file can come back from it. Assumed backups are the ones that fail on the day they are needed.

Who it is for

Small businesses, practices and charities that run their own backups, and the one person in the office who is quietly responsible for them.

How to use it

Name the system and the backup method once at the top.
Log every run, including failures and partial runs, with where the copy went.
Note when media was taken off-site, if it was.
Now and then, restore a file to somewhere harmless and record whether it opened.
Use the restore table as the check on the backup table.

What is on the sheet

One page, top to bottom:

Printed under the title: Whether each backup actually ran, where it went, and — separately — whether anyone has tried getting a file back from it.

Restore tests are the point. A backup that has never been restored from is a hope, not a backup. Pick a file, restore it somewhere harmless, and write down whether it opened. How often is your own decision — no interval is printed here.

Write-on lines: System, server or device · Backup method / software · Kept by

Backup runs — one line per job, including the ones that failed

Table, 6 rows: Date · Job / set · Type · Result · Destination · Taken off-site · Checked by

Restore tests — what was restored, from which backup, and whether it opened

Table, 4 rows: Date · What was restored · Backup dated · Restored to · Opened OK? · Tested by

Questions

How often should a restore test be done?

That is your call, and the sheet does not set it. What it does is make the gap visible: if the restore table has no entries this year, that is the finding.

Why log failed runs?

Because a run of failures is the pattern that matters. A log that only records successes looks fine until the week the drive was full and nobody noticed.