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Noobish backup with xcopy script question

Hi,

So we are backing up all users in our business office to a network hard drive. We are just backing up my documents and their desktop. I plan on using xcopy, however I dont want to customize the script for each user.

Here is what I have basically now:

xcopy "C:\Documents and Settings\Jdoe\Desktop" F:\Jdoe\

Is there a way to make USERNAME automatically be input based upon which user is logged in. Like say Jdoe was backing up it would look like this:

F would be a mapped network drive which i guess brings up a good point as well. I will have to create a folder for each user on the backup device, is there a way to automate this process?

Thanks,
Chad

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ItsChad

ASKER

Well I am guessing I could go:
xcopy "C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Desktop" F:\%username%\

Hmm, I also now am wondering if I will have to go in and manually change permissions for each folder created?

ItsChad

ASKER

Thanks for the help red, yeah I figured this part out, looking at an old script I wrote. The first time they ran the file it would create the folder on the backup drive with their username right? However I would have to manually change permissions correct?

Thanks,
Chad

redseatechnologies

The folder would have permissions for the creator and for the administrators by default (i am pretty sure)

As long as the users have permissions to create folders in F:\ it should be fine

-red

Lee W, MVP

Sounds ok... so what are you doing for an offsite backup? In case of fire... or worse...

Steve Knight

BTW I would suggest using "%userprofile%\%username%\desktop" rather than hard coding a path - that assumes it is running as that user.

Are you aware of roaming profiles BTW, or redirection of my documents and desktop to a network drive using group policy?

Both are possibly more difficult to setup but are more robust as users data would be on the server stright away - then again maybe you don't have a domain / server as such?

ItsChad

ASKER

Well here is the reasoning behind what we are doing it the way we are. Alot of users feel better working off their local machine than they do having their information stored on the server. So as a matter of comfort we are wanting it to be stored locally then it also helps us by having a good backup source that would be easy to use in case of a single file being corrupted.

I am unfamiliar with %userprofile%\%username%\my documents would that work?

Thanks for all the info.

Chad

ItsChad

ASKER

Also the computers we are doign this on, are single user machines. So that saves alot of confusion.

Thanks,
Chad

redseatechnologies

All you would need to do is "%userprofile%\my documents" not "%userprofile%\%username%\my documents"

And I agree with you, My Documents redirection is buggy, and has all kinds of problems when users connect to another LAN.

Personally, I configure a robocopy script that is scheduled to run from the server twice a day, and give the users the same kind of this on their desktop so they can do it manually - they are doing quite well with that level of control, and we are problem free so far

-red

ItsChad

ASKER

Thanks for all your help red. I am not familar with robocopy, much like xcopy?

redseatechnologies

Similar, but much more powerful, robocopy pretty much supersedes xcopy

http://www.ss64.com/nt/robocopyXP.html

-red

Steve Knight

Agreed, do use robocopy if you can, much better than xcopy -- take a look at the /MIR switch, ideal for such backups as it will keep the two copies of data in sync.

Sorry for mis-entered path before, %userprofile% take you to c:\documents and settings\username or wherever the profile is stored on a particular computer so it is correct the my documents *SHOULD* be under that.

Personally I have never had any problems with folder redirection for My Documents and Desktop to keep them seperate from Roaming profiles stored elsewhere, perhaps combined with Offline Files facility as long as the place it is redirected to exists... but a scripted method is as good, or better in a lot of ways.

Steve

redseatechnologies

Yeah, I didn't have problems with My Documents redirection, up until recently.

Two users (different clients) both of which have home networks. When they connected to the home networks, instead of wireless, something went nuts and they lost their local copy.

Since then, I am a bit sour on the whole thing, so have been using robocopy, which is not ideal, but makes me feel better about it

-red