Backup won't start - folder may be blocked by another app

Iain, unfortunately when you delete and recreate a Windows users account, even using the same name as before, the accounts are still considered to be different, so you will need to give your new profile permission for the profile folder in Windows to get past this error.

Right-click on the C:\Users\Iain folder in Explorer, select Properties, then click on the Advanced button below the list of permissions.  In the new Advanced Security Settings window shown, you should see that System is the owner for your user profile folder, and then a list of other users with access to it.  You may need to use the Add button to add your new Iain profile to that list and give it Full control.

Thanks Steve, this is what I see.

So, I uninstalled/reinstalled True Image, set up a completely new task, deleting all previous backups, and still, the same issue.

Can anyone help with this?

Iain, if your user profile is shown as having Full Control per your image, then try reselecting the Source folder again in the ATI GUI.

Hi Steve, I don't know if our posts crossed, but please see my most recent post just above yours.  A completely fresh install and backup defining gave the same issue.  Funny thing is, that if I do a full partition backup to an external drive, it goes through OK.

The problem backup is one to my NAS and selecting only my user folder.

Iain, when you configured your Files & Folders task, what Exclusions have you set?

I just did a similar backup of my own profile folder (C:\Users\Smiths) to my NAS using the default exclusions settings and all was fine on the first backup, but the default exclusions are as shown below:

I have also retried the backup task with 'Exclude system files' unticked and this was also successful though the log showed one error " Error 0x40011: Link target was not backed up.
" which suggests that a symbolic link was encountered among the system files.

If you have the MVP Log Viewer tool, please use this to check for any messages written to the task log file that may throw some more light on this problem.

Steve, I tried with various options in exclusions and they all give the same result.

Here is what the most recent log looks like.

Iain, how many users are shown in Explorer below C:\Users\?  This still looks to be a permissions issue rendering the user folder read-only.

Steve, just Default, Iain and Public.

Interestingly, if I select each folder and file within Iain in True Image backup selection, it works. If I select the whole of Iain folder by checking the box at the top, it fails with the error we are talking about.

Steve, have you reached the limit of your help with this?

should I contact Acronis support?

Iain, sorry I am on the UK timezone plus my wife had a few jobs that needed doing....!

Unfortunately, unless you are willing to take out a Pay Per Incident service with Acronis, then ATI 2017 went out of support in October 2017, so that route is out of play.

Interesting that selecting the contents of your C:\Users\Iain folder works ok, but selecting the top level folder gives the error?  That might suggest looking for any hidden / system files in that top level folder, also compare the security permissions of the sub-folders compared to the top level?

Thanks Steve, I’m also on UK time with a wife who wants things doing on a Saturday, so I know how you feel!

i did notice that there was a whole load of NTUser.dat files hidden in the root of Iain. Could they be the issue?

i could post a screenshot of them. How many should I have?

Iain, with all files shown, including hidden protected system files, then I see the list as below for my own user profile folder, otherwise a much shorter list.

Steve, this is becoming a bit weird.

I have selected to show all hidden files in File Explorer, so they all show up in TI.  So, all NTuser files, everything.  If I select all the files and folders in TI (including the hidden ones) the back up works OK. Still, if I select top level Iain in TI, I get the error message we are discussing!

This is strange Iain except to say that you have a possible workaround.  I am doing any testing on ATI 2018 but am doubtful that this is a problem with ATI 2017.

Out of interest, do you see the same error message if you select a different user top folder.

Another test would be to create a new user profile, i.e. Iain2, switch to that profile so that all the desktop and profile files get created, then try a backup of C:\Users\Iain2.

OK, it's the Iain/Onedrive folder.  Now, the error shows up as that folder being 'blocked by another app'.

If I select 'Ignore' then the backup works OK. 

Iain, there have been other forum topics reporting issues with OneDrive that are caused by the new Files on demand feature being used, where the local files are then just symbolic links to files stored in the OneDrive Cloud.

See topic: Backup of OneDrive Folders Fails from the 2018 forum.

Yes, I guessed that the 'Files on Demand' feature may be causing the original error, but I switched that off, and all files were downloaded to my local drive. That is when the Onedrive folder was identified as the culprit when running the backup in TI.

I still think it's strange that the other backup I do in TI - a full partition one - is unaffected by this, and all files including the Onedrive folder, are backed up OK.

Iain, a full partition backup is done down at a sector level, so is not as concerned over file level permissions.

On the OneDrive aspect, the first thing I do with all such Cloud services is to locate the local store folder in the root of a different partition so that I am not putting unnecessary data in my C:\Users\profile folder tree.  For me, my user data is on my E: partition, including all documents etc.

Thanks Steve, the other thing I'm confused by, is that this used to work OK with the Onedrive folder.  This issue is a fairly recent one.

Something that MS or Acronis have to address?

Iain, your initial post in this topic said: " I had to delete and recreate my user account in Windows 10, and now my TI 2017 backup will not start. "

I would say that the profile issue may have more to do with the problem here.  If you can create a test profile and setup OneDrive and an ATI backup, that should prove the point.

Thanks Steve, but why should it?  I logged out of my MS account - including Onedrive - in my original Windows account, created a new one and then deleted the original one. I then logged into my MS account - including Onedrive - on the new account and had the issue we are discussing.

Sorry Iain, that's all I have at this time.  If this was all working fine prior to your account actions and the problem started after those actions, then it is difficult to see this as an ATI issue, and we are not seeing other users reporting such issues other than when the OneDrive Files on Demand is getting involved.

Ok, thanks for everything, Steve. I’ll just have to use the workaround. 

Steve, just to let you know, in case it comes up again, that I unlinked my PC from Onedrive, relinked it, resynced the files and now everything is working OK with TI.

Iain, thanks for sharing that additional information / actions.  This certainly has been a strange issue that hopefully very few other users will experience!