NTBackup Utility Unusable; Err Msg: "NTBackup Error"

 Last reviewed: April 11, 1997
Article ID: Q153984
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5 and 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5 and 3.51

SYMPTOMS

The NTBackup utility is unusable. The following error message may appear when you try to start your backup procedure: 

   NTBackup error

CAUSE

This usually happens when the default rights in %Systemroot% or %Systemroot%\System32 have been modified. Changing the rights in the %Systemroot%\System32 directory to restrict access may render the utility NTBackup unusable.

For example, the default rights in the %Systemroot%\System32 directory are as follows: 

   Administrators       Full Control
   Creator Owner        Full Control
   Everyone             Change
   Server Operators     Change
   System               Full Control
An administrator may want to change the rights of the group Everyone if users are logging on to the console to perform various administration tasks (such as back up system, check application log files, file maintenance, and so forth). After modification, the rights are as follows: 

   Administrators       Full Control
   Creator Owner        Full Control
   Everyone             Read (RX) (RX)
   Server Operators     Change
   System               Full Control
A user who performs nightly backups and who is only a member of the Backup Operators group will not be able to back up the system. This is because NTBackup creates its Backup.log file in the %Systemroot% directory (the default location) and temp files(catalog files) created by NTBackup are created in the same directory where NTbackup.exe is located. The Backup.log file can be moved to any location on the hard disk by changing the default location in the Backup Information dialog box in NTBackup, but the temp files created by the application cannot be changed.

RESOLUTION

There are three workarounds to this problem:

  • Give the group Backup Operators Change rights to System32.

    -or-

  • Give the group Everyone Change rights (RWXD) to System32.

    -or-

  • Move NTbackup.exe to another directory on the hard disk, such as c:\backup, and assign appropriate rights.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.5x. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

Additional query words:
Keywords : kbnetwork NTSrvWkst ntutil
Version : 3.5 3.51
Platform : WinNT

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Last reviewed: April 11, 1997
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