Compare includes Symlinks even with UNchecked "Include symbolic links"

[TallBob]

Windows 10/64 up to date with patches
Free FileSync V12.2 64Bit 4/2/2023 Donation Edition

When I run a compare I receive the following errors in the Log:

5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvARM32.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvARM32~eb02.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvARM64.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvARM64~e958.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvX64.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvX64~8e89.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvX86.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvX86~d8f3.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\GameBarElevatedFT_Alias.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\GameBarElevatedFT_Alias~be72.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MediaPlayer.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MediaPlayer~2e45.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MicrosoftEdge.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MicrosoftEdge~47f9.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MicrosoftSecurityApp~4526.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python~9177.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python3.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python3~e11e.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Skype.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Skype~0a82.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\WinDbgX.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\WinDbgX~f362.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\WindowsPackageManagerServer~63c8.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:56 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\winget.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\winget~5d75.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftSecurityApp~fc81.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\python.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\python~9f16.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\python3.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\python3~549b.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\WindowsPackageManagerServer~f6cb.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\winget.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\winget~3f75.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge~65b7.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.SkypeApp_kzf8qxf38zg5c\Skype.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.SkypeApp_kzf8qxf38zg5c\Skype~72d7.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvARM32.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvARM32~8cdc.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvARM64.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvARM64~420a.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvX64.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvX64~fb28.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvX86.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\dbgsrvX86~b828.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\WinDbgX.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe\WinDbgX~70b5.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay_8wekyb3d8bbwe\GameBarElevatedFT_Alias.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay_8wekyb3d8bbwe\GameBarElevatedFT_Alias~e62b.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]
5:54:57 PM      Error   Cannot copy file
                "C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MediaPlayer.exe" to
                "T:\Backups\RWS8\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MediaPlayer~d3a9.ffs_tmp".
                ERROR_CANT_ACCESS_FILE: The file cannot be accessed by the system. [CopyFileEx]


The Comparison Settings are:
File time and size
[] Include symbolic links
and
[X] Ignore errors

It turns out that all of these are Windows Junctions i.e. Symlinks

The manual says:

Symbolic Link Handling

FreeFileSync lets you choose to include symbolic links (also called symlinks or soft links) when scanning directories rather than skipping over them. When included, you can select between two ways to handle them:

Follow: Treat symbolic links like the object they are pointing to. Links pointing to directories are traversed like ordinary directories and the target of each link is copied during synchronization.

As link: Include the symbolic link object directly. Symbolic links will be shown as separate entities. Links pointing to directories are not traversed and the link object itself is copied during synchronization.

All I need is for FFS to ignore these. Am I missing something here or is this a bug?
Also, it seems that these are

[TallBob]

Also, it seems that these are also being reported as errors even though Ignore Errors is checked.

[Zenju]

These files can't be Junctions, because Junctions represent folders. But what makes you think they could be Symlinks?

[TallBob]

Well....

When I display the directory C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps with Zabkat Explorer2 it says "J" in the attributes column for each of the files. That is misleading and I'll take that up with them later. So, I opened a DOS Command Prompt and got these interesting results...

C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps> DIR
 Volume in drive C is C-DISK
 Volume Serial Number is AA8D-BEC5

 Directory of C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps

09/27/2022  08:48 PM    <DIR>          Backup
04/13/2023  05:32 PM                 0 dbgsrvARM32.exe
04/13/2023  05:32 PM                 0 dbgsrvARM64.exe
04/13/2023  05:32 PM                 0 dbgsrvX64.exe
04/13/2023  05:32 PM                 0 dbgsrvX86.exe
04/11/2023  06:03 PM                 0 GameBarElevatedFT_Alias.exe
11/24/2021  04:35 PM    <DIR>          HaukeGtze.NotepadEditor_6bk20wvc8rfx2
03/02/2023  05:29 AM                 0 MediaPlayer.exe
04/18/2023  07:42 AM    <DIR>          Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4_8wekyb3d8bbwe
01/24/2023  06:25 AM    <DIR>          Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe
04/15/2022  04:21 AM    <DIR>          Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe
05/11/2023  10:09 PM    <DIR>          Microsoft.SkypeApp_kzf8qxf38zg5c
04/13/2023  05:32 PM    <DIR>          Microsoft.WinDbg_8wekyb3d8bbwe
04/11/2023  06:03 PM    <DIR>          Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay_8wekyb3d8bbwe
03/02/2023  05:29 AM    <DIR>          Microsoft.ZuneMusic_8wekyb3d8bbwe
04/15/2022  04:21 AM                 0 MicrosoftEdge.exe
04/18/2023  07:42 AM                 0 MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe
01/24/2023  06:25 AM                 0 python.exe
01/24/2023  06:25 AM                 0 python3.exe
05/11/2023  10:09 PM                 0 Skype.exe
04/13/2023  05:32 PM                 0 WinDbgX.exe
01/24/2023  06:25 AM                 0 WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe
01/24/2023  06:25 AM                 0 winget.exe
              14 File(s)              0 bytes
               9 Dir(s)  135,654,662,144 bytes free

C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps> ATTRIB
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvARM32.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvARM64.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvX64.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\dbgsrvX86.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\GameBarElevatedFT_Alias.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MediaPlayer.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MicrosoftEdge.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python3.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Skype.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\WinDbgX.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe does not exist
The target of the symbolic link C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\winget.exe does not exist

C:\Users\rws\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps>


So that says they are in fact Symlinks, NOT Junctions, as Explorer2 lead me to believe.

The other interesting part is that they are "dead" symlinks that don't point to a valid file. I used the DEL command to remove a few of them and that seemed to work.

At the moment it seems that I should just be able to delete them and all will be OK. But, that does not really address how FFS is handling this. Perhaps the fact that the links are "broken" is messing up FFS's handling? Perhaps a warning from FFS that they are broken would be of use?

[TallBob]

I did remove all of my "broken" symlinks and my errors have gone away.

But, I think FFS could have handled that more "graciously."

[Zenju]

Most likely, these files are reparse points (= a broader category) but neither symlinks or junctions. FreeFileSync is very careful to distinguish these categories. A common software bug is to simply assume "reparse point = symlink or junction", which is what both Zabkat Explorer2 and attrib.exe did.

[xCSxXenon]

Yeah, it sounds like FFS handled them exactly as it should? They pointed to inaccessible locations and reported that exactly. CopyFileEx doesn't state the reason it wasn't accessible, so FFS can't report it as such

[therube]

What is zero-byte executable files in Windows
(I'm glad my computer doesn't understand the concept of "apps" ;-).)

[TallBob]

Well, if the error indication from Windows is non-specific I agree. What else could FFS do? Thanks for bearing with me on this. For my part, FFS is a 5-Star program. I hope that means a lot to the readers since I've been in this industry since 1970.