Windows 7 Backup error 0x80070002

Hi, Im not sure where to post this but here it goes.

Every time I try to backup my files to my external HDD using W7 backup utility, I keep getting this error:

Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\School. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))

This "School" folder was never located here in the first place. It is located in C:/Users/David/School. How can I make W7 backup to stop thinking that that folder exists?

No I haven't. The reason is because it takes FOREVER to backup everything all over again... Honestly it is not a big problem to me and it's not worth it to erase it and backing everything over again to fix it. It is a very small problem and it took me backing up at least 5 times before even addressing this problem.

Anybody else having this problem?

ThumperSD said:

Hi, Im not sure where to post this but here it goes.

Every time I try to backup my files to my external HDD using W7 backup utility, I keep getting this error:

Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\School. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))

This "School" folder was never located here in the first place. It is located in C:/Users/David/School. How can I make W7 backup to stop thinking that that folder exists?

I have only managed to successfully use Windows Backup after a clean install, before making any changes at all. Once I install programs, etc, I have gotten a number of errors similar to the ones you describe preventing me from using this feature.

After researching it at length, I found that most people pointed to the secondary partition Win7 creates during installation. It's a 100 MB partition which is marked as "System Reserved". Once the free space on this is less than 70 MB, errors begin to occur. My solution was to revert to a third party backup utility (Paragon) which has it's own proprietary "Hot-Swap" technology. The nice thing about using it is that one can use it with or without having to load into the OS. It's up to how you want to run it.

I'm experimenting now with forcing a WIn7 install on a predefined partition, making it unable to create this secondary partition. It's that little pesky 100 MB that seems to have given users so many headaches...

PS. I used to use Ghost 10... but I doubt it works on Win 7.

I thinking this's probably why a lot of users report the Windows 7 backup utility stalls at formatting DVD's, hense the workaround of manually formatting the DVD's before using W7's backup utility to burn.

Why new DVD's, -R and moreover even -RW's, 'need' to be formatted, is beyond me. It's not like DVD/CD's aren't NTSC (and 'are' FAT32), but whatever works, is the point.

JohnPC said:

ThumperSD said:

Hi, Im not sure where to post this but here it goes.

Every time I try to backup my files to my external HDD using W7 backup utility, I keep getting this error:

Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\School. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))

This "School" folder was never located here in the first place. It is located in C:/Users/David/School. How can I make W7 backup to stop thinking that that folder exists?

I have only managed to successfully use Windows Backup after a clean install, before making any changes at all. Once I install programs, etc, I have gotten a number of errors similar to the ones you describe preventing me from using this feature.

After researching it at length, I found that most people pointed to the secondary partition Win7 creates during installation. It's a 100 MB partition which is marked as "System Reserved". Once the free space on this is less than 70 MB, errors begin to occur. My solution was to revert to a third party backup utility (Paragon) which has it's own proprietary "Hot-Swap" technology. The nice thing about using it is that one can use it with or without having to load into the OS. It's up to how you want to run it.

I'm experimenting now with forcing a WIn7 install on a predefined partition, making it unable to create this secondary partition. It's that little pesky 100 MB that seems to have given users so many headaches...

PS. I used to use Ghost 10... but I doubt it works on Win 7.

So in short you are suggesting to use a third party software for backup?

ThumperSD said:

JohnPC said:

ThumperSD said:

Hi, Im not sure where to post this but here it goes.

Every time I try to backup my files to my external HDD using W7 backup utility, I keep getting this error:

Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\School. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))

This "School" folder was never located here in the first place. It is located in C:/Users/David/School. How can I make W7 backup to stop thinking that that folder exists?

I have only managed to successfully use Windows Backup after a clean install, before making any changes at all. Once I install programs, etc, I have gotten a number of errors similar to the ones you describe preventing me from using this feature.

After researching it at length, I found that most people pointed to the secondary partition Win7 creates during installation. It's a 100 MB partition which is marked as "System Reserved". Once the free space on this is less than 70 MB, errors begin to occur. My solution was to revert to a third party backup utility (Paragon) which has it's own proprietary "Hot-Swap" technology. The nice thing about using it is that one can use it with or without having to load into the OS. It's up to how you want to run it.

I'm experimenting now with forcing a WIn7 install on a predefined partition, making it unable to create this secondary partition. It's that little pesky 100 MB that seems to have given users so many headaches...

PS. I used to use Ghost 10... but I doubt it works on Win 7.

So in short you are suggesting to use a third party software for backup?

LOL... yea...
It's ironic that I wrote that because this morning when I logged into my email, I had a link for my highly anticipated Paragon Disk Manager 2010 free upgrade. It's pretty nice...
If you have the time, the Paragon tech folks where the ones who suggested doing a reinstall on a single pre-partitioned drive, as mentioned above.

Obviously, or is it obliviously, MS has to have become aware of such a rudimenatry bug and it should have been fixed before W7 was even marketed, so does anyone know Bill's cell phone number? I want my money back.

I am assuming that the error is from backing up my files and not system image

Should I continue to let W7 make backups of the system image and use a 3rd party software (i am using SyncBack) to back up my files? I dont think Syncback backs up the system image.