Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security coexistance with backup applications
Problem:
Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security hold the file:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\Shared\QBackup\indx.qbs
Rescue and Recovery (component of ThikVantage family of products by Lenovo) cannot take a backup of this file, except after a reboot of the PC. This means that the file is not open during the start of Symantec. In fact the file is not opened until some Symantec internal process take place and the file remains open.
Please note that the same problem will occur with backup application which attempt to save that file.
Symantec say that this file is not mandatory for a restart after a major failure which necessitate a restore. I checked it the following way:
Boot in safe mode
Rename the file
Boot again in normal mode
The file is re-created and the old file remains unchanged and ignored
Comments:
It is ugly to keep a file open when it is not needed, but it is uglier to be unwilling to close it after use, specifically when it is not mandatory for execution. It adds unnecessary complexity to the platform that you maintain to run your money making business.
Circumvention
As Symantec does not want to close the file, I implemented the following circumvention. It may have to be adapted along versions of Norton 360 or Norton Internet Security because the name of the file and the directory structure can evolve without notification to the customer. (This happened between V1 and V2 of Norton 360)
This file cannot be excluded with normal ‘exclude file’ function of RNR in order to run your backup totally unattended. So you have TWO operations to do:
Declare the directory of the file as potentially excludable
Add the file with the exclusion functions of RNR advanced functions.
Step one:
Execute>>regedit and select backuplist in the
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Lenovo\Rescue. Recovery\Settings
Update the list with:
;suggestion Norton 360 & Norton Internet Security exclusion
;
x=?:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\Shared\QBackup\*
;
;suggestion Norton 360 & Norton Internet Security exclusion
Click on OK
Note that the x is lower case and see the adhoc position in the sample below.
Step two:
Start RNR>> advanced option >>advanced >> exclude files
Under C: go down to the file and exclude it.
Click on ‘Apply’ and wait then exit.
In order to check you can look at the registery ‘ExcludeList’
Now, the backup can run unattended
Reference document
Http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70344
Page 29:
==============
Using Rescue and Recovery in the Windows environment
The Rescue and Recovery program in the Windows environment enables you to perform numerous types of backups. The following information instructs you on how to use backup files with Rescue and Recovery.
Include and exclude backup files with registry settings
Rescue and Recovery can include and exclude an individual file, a folder, or an entire partition. With Rescue and Recovery 4.21, these capabilities are controlled by the following registry entries which are the type REG_MULTI_SZ:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Lenovo\Rescue and Recovery\Settings\BackupList
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Lenovo\Rescue and Recovery\Settings\ExcludeList
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Lenovo\Rescue and Recovery\Settings\OSAppsList
Setting the base backup location:
The following registry entry will set a base backup as soon as an installation is complete: HKLM\Software\Lenovo\Rescue and Recovery\runbasebackuplocation DWord = location value
BackupList:
The registry entry format is:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Lenovo\Rescue and Recovery\Settings\BackupList
================
Updating BackupList Registry
; MAIN MASK FILE FOR BACKUPS
; This controls how files are backed up
; I= files matching mask WILL BE backed up
; i= files matching mask MAY BE backed up (based on IncludeList registry multistring)
; X= files matching mask WILL BE excluded from backup
; x= files matching mask MAY BE excluded from backup (based on ExcludeList registry multistring)
; S= files matching mask WILL be single-instance storaged
; s= files matching mask MAY BE single-instance storaged (based on SISList registry multistring)
;
; Priority of items in this list is lowest to highest.
;
s=*
X=*
============
I=?:\Documents and Settings\*
I=?:\SWTOOLS\*
I=?:\Program Files\*
I=?:\msapps\*
X=?:\Recycled\*
X=?:\RECYCLER\*
X=?:\System Volume Information\*
X=?:\Program Files\Lenovo\System Update\Session
X=?:\WINDOWS\system32\Logfiles\*
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Cookies\*
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Local Settings\Historique\*
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Local Settings\Temp\*
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Bureau\*
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\My Documents\*
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Downloads
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Music
x=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Videos
s=?:\Documents and Settings\*\Bureau\*
s=?:\Documents and Settings\*\My Documents\*
;
;suggestion Norton 360 & Norton Internet Security exclusion
;
x=?:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\Shared\QBackup\*
;
;suggestion Norton 360 & Norton Internet Security exclusion
;
X=?:\Showroom\*
X=?:\FactoryRecovery\*
I=?:\Boot\*
I=?:\bootmgr
=====
I=?:\winre.wim
ExcludeList Registry after step two
The excludelist registery should contain the following line:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\Shared\QBackup\index.qbs
Conclusion
We can take full backup of PCs totally unattended.
In case of major disaster the restored system will be operational immediately.
However, we are dependent on uncontrolled implementation changes.
The changes to the PC requires a good skill level.
All of that because a service provider does not want to close a file after use, file which happen to be unnecessary for a restart.
