Locked and Open Files
You must have administrator access rights to copy open / locked files.
With the exception of expensive solutions, most backup software cannot copy locked files. For example, if you use Microsoft Outlook then you cannot copy the data file (e.g. outlook.pst) while Outlook is running. The same restriction applies to many other applications and their files.
The reason for this is because of the way Microsoft Windows manages file locking. When a program opens a file it must specify if other applications are allowed to read the file while it is being used. If the program specifies other applications cannot read the file then Windows will strictly enforce this. There is no way to force Windows to let the other applications read the file.
However, Microsoft introduced new features in Windows XP and Windows 2003 that allow programs to read these files. SyncBackSE makes use of these new features to copy these locked files. There are restrictions on their use:
The file being copied (which is locked) must be on a volume formatted with the NTFS file system. If you're using Windows XP then it's very likely it is.
The file being copied must be on a local drive and not a network drive.
You must be running Windows XP (Pro or Home) or Windows 2003. It is not possible to copy locked files using Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, or 2000.
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