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MultiServer 6.0 backup of XP Pro - My Documents Namespace corruption


tweekme

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Hi

 

We are aware of the issue where a user can't access thier outlook signatures after a Retrospect backup. However quitting and restarting outlook fixes the problem.

 

The force quit outlook option does a couple of things:

-Force a save of open messages and then close outlook

-Write the contents of the PST file to another backup file

-Relaunch Outlook (it does this relaunch as the domain admin, thats why you lose access to signatures without restarting outlook)

 

What has me confused is that Retrospect is not set up to move files in this operation. The only thing it does is create the copy of the PST file and relaunch. I suppose this process could concievably create a new profile on the machine. I have not seen that happen. Is that what you are seeing?

Nate

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No, this does not describe the behavior. Please read the previous posts again for a recap.

 

 

 

My Documents, Application Data, and Desktop folders are being locked out because of a registry corruption while backing up (by Proactive Backup and possibly because the computer goes into a locked state at idle). When the user returns and logs in or restarts, the OS does not access the correct folder, but creates a new blank folder at the root of the drive with defaults. In some cases, an entire temp profile is created and the user is given the "You will be logged in with a temp profile, etc, etc." warning at login.

 

 

 

To fix the corrupt profile I have to do either an XP System Restore or a System State Restore from Retrospect.

 

 

 

This has been happening intermittently since v6.0. Previous evidence points to laptops being backed up by Proactive while in a locked state. Desktops being backed up on scripts at night while logged out are not experiencing this.

 

 

 

If Open File Option is a workaround, it should be provided for free. Perhaps other large domains are not experiencing this because they have the Open File Option?

 

 

 

Force Outlook has been defeated in all scripts (will wait and see if it helps), Read Only is turned on (has not helped), and all software is up to date as of 4/22/04 (will wait and see).

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Hi

 

Thanks for clarifying the situation.

 

I have talked to a number of people in domain setups who don't use Open file and don't run into this problem. I'm not sure that it is the solution you are looking for.

 

Can you please confirm the steps to reproduce this error:

 

1)Log into the domain on an XP client computer

2)Enable a password protected screen saver and allow it to lock the machine

3)Run a backup with Retrospect 6.0 or 6.5

4)Unlock the screen and try to access user settings

at this point I should not have access to my documents, email etc. Correct?

 

Thanks

Nate

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  • 2 weeks later...

I finally had time to run these tests. The server at one client has since been updated to 6.5.350 and the clients to 6.5.136. I had a machine enter a locked state during a Proactive backup and it did not cause a problem. I will repeat the trial again this week, as sheduling allows, as it seems to be intermittent.

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  • 3 months later...

OK,after a long time, I have more information on this issue. I apparently missed a few laptops. So, I did not disable the screensaver password lockout option for them. Sure enough, when I saw them recently, the Application Data folder, and in a few cases the My Documents folder, had been re-created on the root level of C:.

 

This pretty much confirms the issue is due to the backup running while the machine is in a Locked state. To re-iterate, this has been happening since Win v6.0, I am currently running all of the latest Retro versions. The clients are set to Read-Only. The scripts have had the Force Outlook to quit option disabled long ago. These setups are not using Open File Backup Option. Nothing has helped until I started disabling the screensaver password lockout in the Display Control Panel.

 

In a typical network environment, user privacy is crucial and it is very difficult to teach users to Log Off their machines every time they go to lunch, the bathroom, a meeting, etc.

 

I have found an easier way to fix the corruption than to rely on System Restore (which doesn't always fix it) or doing a System State Restore From Retrospect (which sometimes entails removing the machine from the domain while offline, going online, and re-joining to the domain). If you login as the corrupted account, go into regedit, to

 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

 

You can see the offending folder paths have been changed. Change them back to point at the correct folders in the Documents & Settings\UserName path. Log Off and back in as Administrator, remove the incorrect folders that were placed in the root level. Move any important docs or files in them back to the correct folders in the Documents & Settings\UserName path.

 

Log back in as the user to test- open & close Outlook and My Documents. Check out the root level of C to make sure the folders were not re-created. Then look at the key above on regedit to make sure that everything is still set properly. Make sure that the Screensaver password is disabled (or do this via Domain Group Policy). Run a System Restore checkpoint. Make a full backup in Retrospect.

 

I hope this helps someone. My clients were about to kill me. I hope Retrospect can fix this so I can give my users back their privacy lockout.

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Hi

 

I still haven't been able to reproduce this here.

 

When you installed the clients were you logged in as the domain administrator or the administrator of the local machine? Do the users have admin rights on each local machine?

 

Thanks

nate

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Quote:

 

When you installed the clients were you logged in as the domain administrator or the administrator of the local machine? Do the users have admin rights on each local machine?

 

 


 

Clients were installed as Domain admin. Users are Domain users with restricted permissions and no admin rights.

 

I wasn't able to reproduce it right away either. I think it is intermittent. The clients describe that they leave their desk with Outlook 2003 (Cached Exchange) open, it locks with the screen saver, Proactive backup kicks in, they come back later and their computer is hung. They restart and either the App Data or My Docs folder are newly created on the root level of C.

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Hi

 

That is at least one difference between my tests and what you have done. I installed the client as the local admin of my machines rather than with a domain admin account.

 

I wonder if there isn't something about your domain setup that causes the problem? Retrospect can't move the files. Windows has to be doing something funky when the client accesses the machine.

 

How about this:

Log into the local administrator account on a client machine so you are not connected to the domain. Let the screensaver lock and try a backup. Does the same thing happen?

 

Can you try uninstalling the client and reinstalling on a couple of machines while logged in as the local administrator?

 

Thanks

Nate

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