Using SyncBackPro > Technical Reference > Open and Locked File Copying

Open / locked files can only be copied when the following criteria are met:

• You are running SyncBackPro or SyncBackSE elevated and with a user who is a member of the Backup Operators group (or an Administrator). Starting with SyncBack V12, it is possible to copy open/locked files without these requirements if you have installed the Scheduler Monitor Service (which is the case if SyncBack was installed for All Users).

•The open / locked file is on a local volume that is formatted with NTFS or ReFS, or it is on a local volume that is formatted with FAT32 and you also have a local volume on an internal drive that is formatted with NTFS or ReFS. You can copy locked files to any other drive (external or internal), network drive, Zip file, FTP, etc. The restriction is on where the locked file is, not where it is copied to.

“Local” refers to a volume on a drive that is physically attached to the computer. This means open or locked files cannot be copied from drives that are accessed over a network.

“Internal” refers to a drive connected through interfaces such as SATA, SCSI, IDE or NVMe. Drives connected via USB, FireWire, eSATA or similar external interfaces are considered external. In essence, if the drive is installed inside the computer’s chassis, it is treated as internal.

If these conditions are not met, or if another issue prevents access, the first page of the log file will contain a warning indicating that open or locked files could not be copied.

Possible reasons why an open / locked file cannot be copied:

•If you are using a UNC path to a local drive (e.g. \\localhost\C$\path\) then you must change it to use the drive explicitly and not in the UNC format (e.g. C:\path\)

•Only one profile can copy open / locked files at any one time. If two profiles are running at the same time then only one of them will be able to copy the open / locked files. If you are running profiles in a group then unselect the option to run them in parallel.

•The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is not installed or working correctly. VSS is a part of Windows and not SyncBack. It is used to copy open / locked files. If there is a problem with VSS then the log file will contain the error messages.

•You are not using the latest version of SyncBackPro or SyncBackSE. You may download the latest version from our website.

•Desktop search programs, like Copernic Desktop Search, can interfere with the copying of open / locked files. You may need to close those programs to guarantee that open / locked files can be copied.