diff --git a/usr.sbin/nfsd/nfsv4.4 b/usr.sbin/nfsd/nfsv4.4
index 22308830482b..071a646814e4 100644
--- a/usr.sbin/nfsd/nfsv4.4
+++ b/usr.sbin/nfsd/nfsv4.4
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 .\"
 .\" $FreeBSD$
 .\"
-.Dd December 3, 2009
+.Dd April 10, 2011
 .Dt NFSV4 4
 .Os
 .Sh NAME
@@ -54,12 +54,13 @@ open/lock state changing operations.
 To provide for correct recovery semantics, a small file described by
 .Xr stablerestart 5
 is used by the server during the recovery phase.
-If this file is missing,
-the server will not start.
-If this file is lost, it should be recovered from backups, since creating
-an empty
-.Xr stablerestart 5
-file will result in the server starting without providing a grace period
+If this file is missing or empty, there is a backup copy maintained by
+.Xr nfsd 8
+that will be used. If either file is missing, they will be
+created by the
+.Xr nfsd 8 .
+If both the file and the backup copy are empty,
+it will result in the server starting without providing a grace period
 for recovery.
 Note that recovery only occurs when the server
 machine is rebooted, not when the
@@ -185,25 +186,9 @@ are set in
 .Pp
 You will also need to add at least one ``V4:'' line to the
 .Xr exports 5
-file and, before starting the server for the first time, create an empty
-.sp
-.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
-/var/db/nfs-stablerestart
-.Ed
-.sp
-file.
-The command
-.sp
-.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
-install -o root -g wheel -m 600 /dev/null /var/db/nfs-stablerestart
-.Ed
-.sp
-executed as ``su'' should suffice.
-This can only be done when the server is not running and there are no
+file for
 .Nm
-file system mounts against the server.
-If this file is lost during a crash, recovery from backups is
-recommended.
+to work.
 .Pp
 If the file systems you are exporting are only being accessed via
 .Nm
@@ -311,9 +296,11 @@ daemons at boot time via the ``nfsuserd_flags'' and ``nfscbd_flags''
 .Xr rc.conf 5
 variables.
 .Sh FILES
-.Bl -tag -width /var/db/nfs-stablerestart -compact
+.Bl -tag -width /var/db/nfs-stablerestart.bak -compact
 .It Pa /var/db/nfs-stablerestart
 NFS V4 stable restart file
+.It Pa /var/db/nfs-stablerestart.bak
+backup copy of the file
 .El
 .Sh SEE ALSO
 .Xr stablerestart 5 ,
diff --git a/usr.sbin/nfsd/stablerestart.5 b/usr.sbin/nfsd/stablerestart.5
index b32b98541846..7096053f7784 100644
--- a/usr.sbin/nfsd/stablerestart.5
+++ b/usr.sbin/nfsd/stablerestart.5
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 .\"
 .\" $FreeBSD$
 .\"
-.Dd December 3, 2009
+.Dd April 10, 2011
 .Dt STABLERESTART 5
 .Os
 .Sh NAME
@@ -75,9 +75,11 @@ is written to stable storage by the time a write op with IO_SYNC specified
 has returned. This might require hardware level caching to be disabled for
 a local disk drive that holds the file, or similar.
 .Sh FILES
-.Bl -tag -width /var/db/nfs-stablerestart -compact
+.Bl -tag -width /var/db/nfs-stablerestart.bak -compact
 .It Pa /var/db/nfs-stablerestart
 NFSv4 stable restart file
+.It Pa /var/db/nfs-stablerestart.bak
+backup copy of the file
 .El
 .Sh SEE ALSO
 .Xr nfsv4 4 ,
@@ -86,8 +88,10 @@ NFSv4 stable restart file
 If the file is empty, the NFSv4 server has no choice but to return
 NFSERR_NOGRACE for all reclaim requests. Although correct, this is
 a highly undesirable occurrence, so the file should not be lost if
-at all possible. Nfsd will not create the file if it does not
-exist and will simply log a failure to start, in the hopes that the
-file can be recovered from a backup. To move the file, you must edit
+at all possible. The backup copy of the file is maintained
+and used by the
+.Xr nfsd 8
+to minimize the risk of this occurring.
+To move the file, you must edit
 the nfsd sources and recompile it. This was done to discourage
 accidental relocation of the file.