Backup/Restore wss sites: using smigrate

1. Use smigrate to backup a site .
Example syntax: smigrate -w http://sps/sites/example -f d:\bckp\backup.fwp

2. Use a Cabinet decompression utility such as EXTRACT to decompress all of the files out of the FWP file.
You can get the EXTRACT utility from the Microsoft CAB SDK at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dncabsdk/html/cabdl.asp, althoughany utility that can decompress CAB files will suffice.

Example syntax: EXTRACT /A /E backup.fwp /L c:\files

3. Browse to the "files" folder and open the manifest.xml file.

4. Change location (LCID) and language settings and any custom list type entries to built-in list type entries.
For example, to turn location and language settings:
vti_defaultlanguage="SWde"tovti_defaultlanguage="SRen-us"
Same thing with keys "LCID" Value "1033" - is for US"1031" is for DE (search for string 1031\ and replace it with 1033\)

5. Save your changes.

6. Use a Cabinet compression utility such as CABARC to compress all of the files in the "files" folder into a FWP file.
You can get the CABARC utility from the Microsoft CAB SDK at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dncabsdk/html/cabdl.asp, although any utility that can generate CAB files will suffice.

Example syntax: CABARC N backup.fwp c:\files\*.*

7. Use smigrate to restore the fixed FWP file to a new site but first you have to create a project site without using a template.

Example syntax: smigrate -r -w http://sps/sites/example -f backup.fwp

Note that each site has its own manifest file.
If you don't use the "-e" switch with smigrate during the backup, then smigrate will also backup allof the sites below the one you specify.
If that happens, you will need to alter the manifest file for each site in the FWP below the one you specified.
You can find the manifest files for a site's immediate child sites listed in the "" section in the manifest file.
Sometimes you see greater font size then excepted. Open site default.aspx in frontpage and edit it.
In html code search after /1031/ows.css and change it to /1033/ows.css.

Generally I publish things that i have not found easily, but always those things are published because are useful to me. In that case i found it easily on the Tarik Eker Blog, but i published it on my blog as a fast ShorCut to me.