Admin user can't access limited user's folders

jsmith99jsmith99 Posts: 20,382
Forum Member
✭✭✭
I'm using iDrive for online backup. The software runs in the Admin user, but I always do everything in a limited user.

All of the files are coming from My Documents or Public folders.

Although I can access C:/users/~/My Documents, plus all its folders, I get an error message for My Music, My Pictures and My Videos. The error message says :

[ERROR ][06/13/2013 18:47:25][Error fetching directory contents of C:\Users\jsmith99\Documents\My Music\. Reason: check if you have appropriate permissions to fetch the contents of the resource].

I've done a google search, but it wasn't very helpful. One person said that some folders didn't exist as such but were mere links to provide backward compatibility.

Anyone have any ideas? To be honest, it's not that important, most music and picture files are Public. I could just exclude these folders from the backup.

I've also checked Properties|Security, and both 'SYSTEM' and 'Admin' have full control.

Comments

  • cmorriscmorris Posts: 6,157
    Forum Member
    Can't you try removing the Administrator password from the admin user account as either from Control Panel or using Hiren's Boot CD its asking you for the password for the admin account (which presumably you have forgotten)
  • jsmith99jsmith99 Posts: 20,382
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I don't think so - it's accessing over 1300 other files without any problems.

    The facility is scheduled to run once a day, which it does, and it then sends me a summary of the log by email.

    If I wish I can go into my Admin account (entering my password when requested) to read the log in full.

    Possibly I didn't make clear that, when you install the software, it goes into Admin, and runs from there, so I don't know why anything should be asking for a password. My user account doesn't have a password.
  • cmorriscmorris Posts: 6,157
    Forum Member
    Oh maybe its the admin account for the software used so try and find that
  • jsmith99jsmith99 Posts: 20,382
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    You'll have to expand on that a little. Or make it a little less technical - I've no idea what you mean by "the admin account for the software used".
  • RoushRoush Posts: 4,366
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    This is almost certainly an issue with permissions and UAC interaction.

    Log in as same account that the backup software uses and see if you can open the folders in Explorer. It will probably pop up a dialog box saying you don't have access, and give you the option to change the folder permissions to allow access.

    Once this is done for all the folders the backup software should be able to access them.
  • cmorriscmorris Posts: 6,157
    Forum Member
    Yes make sure the root folder had the Administer and Users permissions and make it allow for everything
  • jsmith99jsmith99 Posts: 20,382
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Roush wrote: »
    This is almost certainly an issue with permissions and UAC interaction.

    Log in as same account that the backup software uses and see if you can open the folders in Explorer. It will probably pop up a dialog box saying you don't have access, and give you the option to change the folder permissions to allow access.

    Once this is done for all the folders the backup software should be able to access them.

    Logged into my Admin User, ran iDrive - same result, error messages.

    Opened Explorer, went to C:/Users/~/My Pictures. Opened one or two photos - no problem.

    With My Music and My Videos I was able to open the folders and list the contents.

    So no error messages....
  • jsmith99jsmith99 Posts: 20,382
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Further to above :

    Realising I should have re-run backup after looking at the folders, I went back into Admin. This time, I looked at the folders and then ran backup. Just in case it made a difference.

    Got the same error messages - BUT -

    there had been an incremental backup of the file :

    C:/Users/~/Pictures/Me/thumbs.db.

    Whereas the error messages were about :

    C:/Users/~/Documents/My Pictures.

    When I went into the iDrive website, and looked at my backed up files, the photos were, in fact, there.

    So it seems that the path including "Documents" is just a link. I'll simply go back and exclude those three from the backup set.
  • JohnbeeJohnbee Posts: 4,019
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    OP, it is possible to run a backup programme in several days, and it must be ensured that what you want backed up is available when it runs.

    So if it runs as run by a normal user, it will have access usually only to that user's own stuff. I say usually because special permissions might have been set (explained below). That is unlikely of course.

    If it is run as run by a user with admin rights, then it has access to the same as a normal user. In that case of course the user might well give themselves access to other users' stuff. However unless they have done that, it will not access other users' stuff.

    I think, but have not tried it, that the user ADMINISTRATOR is the same as in the previous paragraph.

    Lastly, it is also possible for the programme to run as what they call a Windows service instead of by a named user. In that case, the user running the programme is called SYSTEM.

    So you see that if the program runs as a service, it makes not a jot of difference what administrator and user privileges are, what counts is whether SYSTEM can read the stuff.

    Note that if the program is set to run as a service, the id of the person running it is not relevant.

    I have not the foggiest notion how your backup software runs. Normally programmes can be run in all of the ways I have said, and you have to ensure that the way in which you happen to run it, has access to what it is you want backed up.

    OK, now create a directory and put a file in it. Right click on the directory, and choose Properties, and then click the security tab. You will see the access to that directory (sorry if you call them folders, I am old fashioned) and can change it.

    I said create a directory because it is dangerous piddling around with that sort of thing on a real folder and files because you might do something daft like stop everybody being able to see it. Then you won't be able to right click on it and correct what you've done. You can of course do whatever you like to the junko folder.

    Once you are happy you can do that, and know which user (or SYSTEM) runs the backup, you should be able to set permissions so it will work OK.

    Do not then let anybody change the UAC stuff or muck around with it. Security needs care taking, and people who are not very capable like fooling with it

    It is a very good idea to practice that, and then set up some dummy folders and files, and 'pretend' they are the real ones, and back them up in the same way as the real ones. Once that runs smoothly, you can be confident about how to set up the real stuff.

    Many people have a little go, muck it up or do not understand it, so they open it up and give everything maxi access to everything, and the thing then works but the system is extremely dodgy, so don't fall into that trap.
  • jsmith99jsmith99 Posts: 20,382
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Johnbee, thanks for the comprehensive reply, but if you look back to my post 9, I'd actually resolved the problem. Even if I don't understand how.

    The folders (not that I have a problem with the word 'directories', that's what I called them long before 'folders' came about) which the error messages were about don't actually exist - in my view of the folders, anyway.

    There's no path C:/Users/~/Documents/My Pictures if I use Windows Explorer. So presumably the hierarchy I see in WE is logical, not physical.

    I don't know how iDrive creates its paths, but presumably a different way to WE's.
Sign In or Register to comment.