Is this Robocopy or Vista causing the problem?

[Nick Payne]

I find paths such as the following listed repeatedly in the Robocopy log
when I backup my users folder (robocopy is running as administrator).
Eventually Robocopy completely fills the destination disk, which is three
times the size of the source disk and was completely empty at the start of
the copy:

"c:\Users\nick\Local Settings\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Microsoft\FORMS\"

"c:\Users\nick\Local Settings\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\"

etc...

These paths appear over and over with greater and lesser duplications of
\Application Data\ appearing in each path.

This is the version of Robocopy supplied with Vista.

Nick

 

[Brian L Johnson]

I find paths such as the following listed repeatedly in the Robocopy log
when I backup my users folder (robocopy is running as administrator).
Eventually Robocopy completely fills the destination disk, which is
three times the size of the source disk and was completely empty at the
start of the copy:

"c:\Users\nick\Local Settings\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application
Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Microsoft\FORMS\"

Just so's you know that you're not alone, I also had this problem a week
or so ago using the backup utility "SecondCopy". I even took a couple of
screen shots to prove that I wasn't dreaming. <g>

I never resolved it and I now use Karen's Replicator -- which doesn't seem
to have this problem.

 

[Nick Payne]

Just so's you know that you're not alone, I also had this problem a week
or so ago using the backup utility "SecondCopy". I even took a couple of
screen shots to prove that I wasn't dreaming. <g>

I never resolved it and I now use Karen's Replicator -- which doesn't seem
to have this problem.

Thanks. I tried your suggestion of Karen's Replicator, but on my Vista
installation it has the same problem as Robocopy of suffering an infinite
recursion of "Application Data" directories when I try to backup my
user\userid folder.

Nick

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Nick

The path:
c:\Users\nick\Local Settings\Application Data

Is pointing to 2 Junction Points (Local Settings and Application Data). If
there are junction points in the path of the folders you are copying, this
will cause the infinite loop you are seeing and break RoboCopy.

You need to exclude folder junction points by using the /XJD switch in
the command.

A junction point redirects files or programs that try to access that folder
name/location.

 

[Nick Payne]

Thanks. That was the fix.

Nick

The path:
c:\Users\nick\Local Settings\Application Data

Is pointing to 2 Junction Points (Local Settings and Application Data). If
there are junction points in the path of the folders you are copying, this
will cause the infinite loop you are seeing and break RoboCopy.

You need to exclude folder junction points by using the /XJD switch in
the command.

A junction point redirects files or programs that try to access that
folder name/location.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Nick

Glad this helped.