Cannot Relocate Server Based Roaming Profile - Need Help

[teekay]

Hey Folks,

I really enjoy tek-tips. This place has really help me get out of many binds.

I do have a weird issue, that I can't seem to resolve. Hopefully someone can help:

Backgroud:
We have a LAN with approximate 100 users. Many users move frequently between desktops, and we have created a server based roaming profile to make sure their profile move from desk to desk with them. We have been using roaming profiles for over 4 years now.

The Issue:
The current server housing the roaming profile is schedule to be decomminisionied, and upgraded to newer hardware. I have move all other contents from this server to the new server, but I can not copy / move the folder that contains all the roaming profile.

When I attempt to copy / move the roaming profile, I get the following message:

Error Copying File or Folder:
Cannote create or replace <username folder>: Access is denied.

Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use

What I have tried:
- Log in as Administrator
- Boot server "off" network
- Verified all share and open files are gone

What I didn't try:
- Copy content in safe mode
- Relocate Roaming Profile drives to new server (profiles are on a Raid 5, and will be very difficlt to move to new machine for extraction).

So if anyone can shine or shed any light on my issue, it would greatly be appreciated.

Regards,

Ton

 

[pgaliardo]

Had a similar incident recently. When a user fisrt logs on and their roaming profile get created, they become the owner and have full rights to their folder.

You probably need to take ownership of all the folders and assign yourself or a domain admin Full Control. Without it, you won't be able to copy the folders.

 

[teekay]

Hey pgaliardo,

Thanks for your quick reply.

I just went to the server, and try to investigate a bit based on your suggestion.

Here is what happens:

- Login to server as domain admin, and navigate to folder containing Roaming Profiles

- Right click on Roaming Profile Folder and Select Properties > Securities

- Get message saying "Security: You do not have permission to view or edit the current permission setting for <username folder>, but you can take ownership or change audting setting"

- I go into security tab, and no user is specified, not even the user it belongs to.

- I click on Security > advance > owner, and I can have the Administrator account take over ownership

Here is the question I have:

If I have the administrator takeover ownership, and then copy the content over to the new server. Do I need to relinquish the administrator rights to the folder, and reassign ownership to the user again, before the user can use the roaming profile again?

Thanks again for all the help.

Ton

 

[pgaliardo]

It's not required that the user be the owner, although it is probably best. You just have to make sure that the user has Full Control to the folder.

I'm surprised the profiles were even working if no user is specified in the security tab.