Backing up Windows 7 C:\users directory??

[budec]

By default for some reason Windows 7 does this weird recursive syslinks on the Application Data directory?

why?

What's the difference between AppData and Application Data?

Also how can you back it up using standard tools? Most tools think it's a real directory so go 10+ levels deep.

C:\Documents and Settings\rhino\AppData\Local\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Thunderbird\

It keeps going on forever from what I can tell.

 

[cyclone3d]

I bet that those backup tools will do the same exact thing with Send To, Start Menu, Templates,
NetHood, PrintHood, and possibly My Documents (The shortcut looking one).

Basically all the "special" folders that tell you access denied whenever you try to open them.

It is designed that way and MS won't change it. If those tools are not detecting those fake folders then they need to be updated to work with Windows 7 and with Vista for that matter.

 

[budec]

Yea, it looks like they are syslinks; not real directories. MS did that for backwards compatibility (so applications have a place to write that is same as XP); but ironically it breaks all the older backup tools.

I found a tool that let's you ignore those. It works, but not I have to figure out how to delete this mess (windows chokes on deleting cause it looks like it has a limit on size of directory name or amount of sub directories. )


edit: robocopy2k3 will delete that mess, but you need to use /PURGE option (dangerous).