Restored files all inaccessible with Read Only attribute. Attribute cannot be changed.
I need help doing a correct restore. I have used True Image for two years or so, but this last month is the first time I have ever used it to do a restore. Plainly I am doing something wrong. I hope there's a simple solution to my problem.
Environment:
Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop running Windows XP Pro SP3 and True Image 2013.
Computername = DEANSDELL
After reformatting the HD, I restored all of the files needed in Data Applications to run a handful of important applications. These files were backed up from User account EDJ. I re-installed the applications from files from the app providers.
In the first three restores I specified Original Location, and that gave me 3 Users. The first User was EDJ; but when I went to the account, I could not open any of the necessary files, including my Thunderbird Mail files. In all, I tried three times to restore EDJ, always resulting with inaccessible mail and data files. Even though I finally deleted User EDJ in the Control Panel, I could not delete the 3 three iterations of the EDJ restored user files. EDJ, EDJ.DEANSDELL, and EDJ.DEANSDELL000.
Whenever I tried to access any of the files in these "accounts" I go to User/Data Applications, select the file to show Properties. Always shows Attribute: Read Only. I can change it, but the change does not save.
Next I created User = Dean and restored selected files from the EDJ backup, specifying the different destination. The files came into User Dean, but all are inaccessible, just as before. Trying to change the Read Only attribute, as before, does not “take”.
Since that time I have been using web access for my Gmail, and the Google online Calendar for my scheduling. These are poor substitutes for Thunderbird and the Beiley software I have long used for my ToDo list, Calendar and Contact Directory.
What am I failing to do? ..failing to check?
Thank you,
Dean Jones
To add to what james has said:
When you create a new Windows installation, even if you create user accounts with the same names as in the previous installation, Windows sees them as different users. They will have a different Security ID, which is what Windows actually works from (the friendly user account name is more for you). When you copy files from the old installation, with security attributes preserved, they won't be owned by the new user accounts.
Thank you, James and Tuttle. Seems perfectly logical, and simple to re-run correctly. Here I go.
It's a common issue, nothing to do with Acronis or any backup tool. Other forums dedicated to other backup tools have loads of posts on the same topic. The same thing occurs even with Windows own file backup/copy tools such as Windows Explorer and Robocopy.
Even forums of drive manufacturers have them, with external HD owners complaining that their drive is preventing them from using "their own" files that are on the external HD. Again, it's related to Windows security/permissions.
1) I cannot find a setting for the option to recover my files without their original security setting. Where is it? The Help file indicates the option exists, but no how-to.
Here's an excerpt from True Image 13 Help files:
"Recover files with their original security settings - if the file security settings were preserved during backup (see File-level security settings for backup), you can choose whether to recover them or let the files inherit the security settings of the folder where they will be recovered to. This option is effective only when recovering files from file/folder backups."
2) Is there any way to delete my user files recovered incorrectly, short of saving the "good stuff" in a new backup and reformatting the HD?
Sorry if these questions seem lame, but my back has been to the wall too long trying to get past these obstacles. Clearly I should have found a tutorial on True Image before creating the backups.
thanks again, Dean
If you are administrator on the machine you should be able to take control of the folders. Right click on the folder(s) and select Properties. On the security tab add your ID back, giving it full control. If you are not able to do that, click the Advanced button and go to the Owner tab. Select your ID in the "Change owner to:" list, check "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" and click Apply. That will make you the owner and you should then be able to reset the security permissions on the files/folders as well as have access to them.
During the recovery operations, after selecting the file/folders and choosing the locations for the restore, click on the "File Recovery Options", and open the "Advanced Tab" and select "File Recovery Options". This is where you will find the option to preserve (or not) the file security settings.
See attached screen capture of just such a procedure.
Thank you, James. I went to Properties on some of the files and folders that remain inaccessible. Properties does not have a Security tab, but close: a Sharing tab. There a box labeled Sharing and Security suggested that a file could be opened by a different user if one moved it to the My Computer/Shared Documents folder. The samples I tried moved to Shared Docs all right, but still could not be opened or read.
btw, each of my User Accounts (2) has Admin status.
I don't see how I can implement this method of turning off security after the files are recovered. Isn't there some option in True Image to turn off file security before I recover them?
In my previous post:
"During the recovery operations, after selecting the file/folders and choosing the locations for the restore, click on the "File Recovery Options", and open the "Advanced Tab" and select "File Recovery Options". This is where you will find the option to preserve (or not) the file security settings."
You need to turn off Simple File Sharing in Windows XP so the Security Tab will show up.
1.Open My Computer from the Start Menu or Windows XP Desktop. A new My Computer window will appear.
2.Open the Tools menu and choose the "Folder Options..." option from this menu. A new Folder Options window will appear.
3.Click on the View tab and locate the "Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended)" checkbox in the list of Advanced Settings.
4.To disable Simple File Sharing, ensure this checkbox is cleared. To re-enable Simple File Sharing, ensure this checkbox is checked. Click inside the checkbox to alternately enable and disable the option.
If you Google for "Take Ownership" you can find reg files that you can download, for XP or Win7, to create a command to more easily take ownership of files/folders.
As James says, you need the Security tab. Sharing is not for user account security; Sharing is for sharing over a network.