Error Copying Folder

Hi,
We tried to copy our Documents & Settings folder to an external drive for backup but we keep getting the following error message:

"Cannot copy ntuser. It is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again ".

The only Programs we have running are:
Explorer
Smtray
Enditall

We use end it all to close all unnecessary programs.

Any suggestions on solving this issue?

Thanks

 

Don't try to copy the whole thing if you want to do the job while you are logged in. It will fail on part of the logged in account. Two basic choices.

1. Log in as UserA and copy everything else
1.a. Log in as UserB and copy UserA

2. Boot to another OS load and copy the whole thing.

Option 2 has other things to recommend it. If you have a spare drive or room to partition your main drive, it isn't a bad idea to load a very stripped down version of your OS so in the event of bad things happening to the main OS load, you can still log on and either repair or at least salvage your data.

 

Copying Files or Folders Error

I get teh same message at times when copying between hard drives that do not involve Documents and settings (C drive not involved). It acts like something has tagged a file as in use. Even if I restart, the problem remains.

A similar situation occurs at times when I try to open a file (jpg for instance) and it says that Access is denied and use Properties in Windows Explorer to unlock. There is nothing in Windows Explorer file properties box to let me unlock anything

 

Hi Newt,
Thanks for the reply.
Regarding option 2, we have an external USB drive but we do not have a Windows XP Home CD, so we can't very well load a stripped down version of our OS from a Product Recovery CD (IBM).

Thanks again.

 

Hi Pete,
Thanks for your reply.
In view of my circumstances (see my note to Newt), I'll probably try your suggestions.

Thanks again.

 

Hi Pete,
Tried copying folder in safe mode and then tried taking ownership per Microsoft article but we still get the message about ntuser file being in use.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

Let me make sure I'm clear here.

Documents & settings and you have 4 user profiles, A, B, C, D

Logged on as A (with admin rights) and trying to copy B, C, D elsewhere you get the error?

Try This