# 4. PBS OS drives are broken but storage disks are intact, what to do ?

Yes, <span class="font-semibold">you can reinstall Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) and import the backups even if the original PBS drive is broken</span>, as long as your backup data itself is intact on separate storage.

Here's how it works:

<span class="font-semibold">The backup data is independent</span>: Your actual backup files (VMs, containers, disk images) are stored as data on the external storage location. PBS is just the <span class="font-semibold">management layer</span> that organizes and indexes those backups. If PBS itself fails, the backup data remains unchanged.

<span class="font-semibold">Reinstalling and recovering</span>:

<div class="ucB71mHYvyHsWKjYfYKI" id="bkmrk-install-a-fresh-prox"><div class="DDjJOsxcW6f8fPcDWaJx"><div class="JrWQJZIYGnawLoKSzZsO"><div><div class="space-y-4 whitespace-normal *:first:mt-0 *:last:mb-0 VrBPSncUavA1d7C9kAc5 U_5uJaZtJAYAFWUmk7aU">1. <span class="font-semibold">Install a fresh Proxmox Backup Server</span> on new hardware or a replacement drive
2. <span class="font-semibold">Point PBS to your external backup storage</span> (the drives/NAS where your backups are actually stored)
3. PBS will <span class="font-semibold">scan and re-index the backup data</span> from that external storage
4. You'll be able to <span class="font-semibold">restore your VMs and containers</span> from those backups

</div></div></div></div></div><span class="font-semibold">Important considerations</span>:

<div class="ucB71mHYvyHsWKjYfYKI" id="bkmrk-your-backups-must-be"><div class="DDjJOsxcW6f8fPcDWaJx"><div class="JrWQJZIYGnawLoKSzZsO"><div><div class="space-y-4 whitespace-normal *:first:mt-0 *:last:mb-0 VrBPSncUavA1d7C9kAc5 U_5uJaZtJAYAFWUmk7aU">- Your backups must be in a <span class="font-semibold">standard, accessible format</span> (not encrypted in a way that requires the old PBS instance's keys, unless you have those keys)
- If you used <span class="font-semibold">PBS encryption</span>, you'll need the encryption password/key to restore
- The external storage must be <span class="font-semibold">readable</span> (accessible via NFS, SMB, or direct connection)
- There may be a brief period where PBS needs to re-catalog the backups before you can restore

</div></div></div></div></div><span class="font-semibold">Bottom line</span>: Yes, this is a viable recovery scenario. The backup data is the critical part—PBS is replaceable. Just make sure your backups are on drives that are actually safe and accessible.