>
> Hello Michael,
>
> No, I haven't implemented Volume Shadow Copy on this user. Getting time on
> her laptop is very difficult, even for configuration purposes. She has
> Outlook open during every backup with at least two very large, around 1.5
> GB, .pst's.

FWIW, I've found VSS/rsync to be quite unobtrusive for most users even
during the day.  It's certainly not my first choice, but it's rare that
somebody notices anything beyond a busy hard drive.

> Let me ask you all if this scenario works; The user logs into BackupPC GUI
> and initiates a backup through the web browser and immediately logs off
> their computer. Rsync should continue, as it is run from the server,
> right? NTSUER.dat and .PST's should then be closed for that user and be
> backed up as the files are NOT open, is this correct?

The best answer I can give it "it depends," since logging off doesn't
always shut down everything running under the user credentials, and with
fast user switching, it's certainly possible to have multiple users logged
in -- nor does logging out and not rebooting guarantee that processes,
handles, and so forth are actually shut down.

As for rsync, depending on how you launch it and under which credentials
it's launched, the answer is also, maybe.  If, for example, you're
launching it using the credentials of the user whose NTUSER.dat you're
expecting to back up... well, you'll find it still open.

As for Outlook, you'd think that closing it down would close the .PST, but
this isn't always the case; parts of Outlook can continue to run in the
background, and certainly will if the user does something like sync to a
hand held.

> What I will need to do if my thinking IS correct is to force this method
> at least once a week on a regular 'User Chosen' night of the week. For my
> boss... this might be difficult, but she has to compromise with IT at
> least once a week...
>
> Thanks guys,
> Brian

Frankly, I'd go the VSS route, rather than put faith in the users and
trust in timing.

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