ntuser.dat

[Guest]

I recently read of several users having trouble with ntuser.dat. What is ntuser.dat? There also is an "ntuser.dat.log" and an "ntuser.ini". What are they? I have two systems. My primary system runs XP home edition. My other system runs Windows 98 and Linux. I use the Windows 98 system as a data backup repository for information on the Xp system. The problem I have is when I try to copy Documents and Settings to replicate the files on the other system I get the message "ntuser.dat is being used by another user" and the copy aborts. I have to copy my files individually or put them into another directory Perhaps you can tell me WHY and a way around the message. I too cannot delete the files because they are in use.

 

[FrankV]

Don't try to copy them because they are automatically created by WinXP, the
temporary user, who uses them as temporary storage. Windows always has them
open and that is the error you see when you try to delete them.

Frank

I recently read of several users having trouble with ntuser.dat. What is

ntuser.dat? There also is an "ntuser.dat.log" and an "ntuser.ini". What are
they? I have two systems. My primary system runs XP home edition. My other
system runs Windows 98 and Linux. I use the Windows 98 system as a data
backup repository for information on the Xp system. The problem I have is
when I try to copy Documents and Settings to replicate the files on the
other system I get the message "ntuser.dat is being used by another user"
and the copy aborts. I have to copy my files individually or put them into
another directory Perhaps you can tell me WHY and a way around the message.
I too cannot delete the files because they are in use.

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

NTUSER.DAT is the User portion of the Registry. That's where the specific information for user customization, application settings and the like is stored, so it will be "in use" for the user(s) that is/are logged on to the system.