Application Data folder recursion under a Junction

Question

_{Monday, April 18, 2016 10:10 AM}

I am working on a server (SBS 2008 ) and have uncovered an issue where there is multiple occurence of a folder under the junction "Local Settings".

e.g. 'C:\Users\Admin\Local Settings\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\ 

Is it safe to delete the local settings junction point and reset it up?
I am guessing that it would be ok because what showed up the issue was a backup error that indicated that filename was too long. So, any application dealing with it would be unable to use anything that far down.
I have a vague (and probably inaccurate) recollection that there were not supposed to be folders under a junction?

Kind regards and thanks for help.

A sample of folders at the end of the recursion include:
\Microsoft\Feeds\Microsoft Feeds~\
\Microsoft\Feeds\
\Microsoft\Feeds Cache\KKMB557D\
\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStore\
\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\iconcache\
\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IECompatData\
\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Recovery\
\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\
\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Cache\
\Microsoft\Windows\1033\
\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\
\Microsoft\Windows\History\History.IE5\
\Microsoft\Windows\SchCache\
\Microsoft\Windows\
\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportQueue\

All replies (7)

_{Tuesday, April 19, 2016 6:42 AM}

Hi,

According to your description, my understanding is that there are multiple occurrence of a folder under the junction "Local Settings" on SBS 2008.

Local Settings folder at destination “C:\Users\User Name>\Local Settings” is a junction point, a hidden, protected operating system file and can’t be accessed directly by user.

I would recommend you to use the tool - Junction v1.06 – to have an identification first:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896768.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

Then, use the* –d* switch to delete the junction.

Remember to back up your system before any change, it would be helpful for restoration if there is any problem later.

Best Regards,
Eve Wang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected].

_{Tuesday, April 19, 2016 9:33 AM}

Eve,

thanks for taking the time and effort to respond. However, it leaves us no farther forward. You give info on "how to" which I appreciate but is a bit ahead of where I want to be. I was hoping for some insight as to why this has occurred. e.g. why an application would use the junction point? 

In terms of "how to" I would also love to know is there an easy way to take the structure under the junction and move it out to another place ... so that restoring it becomes easy.

Backing up in the general run of things will not work as the recursion places sub-folders out of reach as it bursts the limit of path size.

Also, this server is in operation and it is not a trivial task to restore it, should the issue arise.

So, to sum up, what I would like to find out is

• does anybody have an insight into the risk of deleting the sub-folders - e.g. is it a high likelihood of causing issues?
• is there an way, as aforementioned, of taking the junction "en masse" and moving it in a way that makes it easy to return to the previous state should the need arise [given the fact that it makes the path too long I think this may not be achievable]?

Kind regards.

_{Tuesday, April 19, 2016 9:54 AM}

It looks like the junction for 'Application Data' points to a folder below itself. I.E. 'Local Settings'. If you then follow that folder, you'll end up as described. You could delete the folder, but make sure to create a copy of it on a different drive.

As this is a users profile folder, you could also logoff the user, rename the folder and then logon again. The folder will be recreated and you can check out how it behaves?

Simon

_{Tuesday, April 19, 2016 10:42 AM}

Thanks Simon,

from what I understand, this (suggestion #2) sounds like a pragmatic approach. 

Just to clarify: 

if the junction is "Local Settings" and the "folder" is a sub-folder of it, are you proposing that I rename the junction or the folder?

If it is the junction, I don't see rename/move as an option in the Mark Russinovich app (above) to manage junctions.

Kind regards and thanks for your help.

Zak

_{Wednesday, April 20, 2016 3:26 AM}

Hi,

>Is it safe to delete the local settings junction point and reset it up?
“C:\Users\Admin\Local Settings\ is per-user junction, which is created inside individual user's profile to provide backward compatibility for user applications. 
It is not recommended to delete a junction point by using Explorer, a del /s command, or other file system utilities that walk recursively into directory trees. These utilities affect the target directory and all subdirectories.

>are you proposing that I rename the junction or the folder?
Try to rename the folder via right click and select Rename, such as, rename “Application Data” as “Application Data.old”. 

If there is any problem after renaming, you can undo the change via changing the name back to original one. 

Best Regards,
Eve Wang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected].

_{Thursday, April 28, 2016 3:04 PM}

Hi Eve,

thanks for your reponse.

I wasn't proposing to delete it using explorer etc.

I'm not sure why I would rename the folder - it is not the issue from what I can work out - it's the recursion of the junction point. I'm sure I **could** rename the folder but other applications that reference the folder correctly (outside the junction point) will fall over.

I had hoped there was a way of resolving this issue on a production server that had an easy rollback plan.

Thank for your time and effort Eve.

Z.

_{Monday, May 9, 2016 2:42 AM}

Hi,

There is no built-in tool in Windows to re-create/edit junctions. Additional tool (such as Junction v1.06) or utilities(as below link mentioned) would be necessary.

How to create and manipulate NTFS junction points:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/205524

Besides, per-user junctions(such as “Local Settings”) are created by the Profile service when the user's profile is created. You may consider of creating new user profile in order to restore to the default junctions.

Best Regards,
Eve Wang

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected].