@echo off
:: variables
set drive=G:\Backup
set backupcmd=xcopy /s /c /d /e /h /i /r /y

echo ### Backing up My Documents...
%backupcmd% "%USERPROFILE%\My Documents" "%drive%\My Documents"

echo ### Backing up Favorites...
%backupcmd% "%USERPROFILE%\Favorites" "%drive%\Favorites"

echo ### Backing up email and address book (Outlook Express)...
%backupcmd% "%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book" "%drive%\Address Book"
%backupcmd% "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities" "%drive%\Outlook Express"

echo ### Backing up email and contacts (MS Outlook)...
%backupcmd% "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook" "%drive%\Outlook"

echo ### Backing up the Registry...
if not exist "%drive%\Registry" mkdir "%drive%\Registry"
if exist "%drive%\Registry\regbackup.reg" del "%drive%\Registry\regbackup.reg"
regedit /e "%drive%\Registry\regbackup.reg"

:: use below syntax to backup other directories...
:: %backupcmd% "...source directory..." "%drive%\...destination dir..."

echo Backup Complete!
@pause

The above example backs up "My Documents", Favorites, Outlook Express email/address book, (all for the current user) and the Windows Registry. It copies the files to the directory defined in the %drive% variable, or "g:\Backup". If the script is ran multiple times, it will only rewrite if the source files are newer. It will create subdirectories as necessary, and it will retain file attributes. It can copy system and hidden files.

In the above file, all lines that begin with "::" are comments. The "set drive=" and "set backupcmd=" near the top define two variables (referenced by %drive% and %backupcmd%), used a number of times throughout the file; the first being the location of the top directory where we want to backup, and the second the actual copy command with all necessary switches. All the "echo " lines in the file simpy output the line of text to the screen, and the lines beginning with %backupcmd% are the actual commands to execute.

Note that most of the folders in the above backup example are subdirectories of the %USERPROFILE%... It is possible to simply backup the entire user profile with My Documents, Favorites, Outlook Express, Outlook, etc. by backing up this one folder. Here is an example (it assumes the above "drive" and "backupcmd" variables are set):

%backupcmd% "%USERPROFILE%" "%drive%\%UserName% - profile"

Backing up Other Directories and networked PCs

You can backup other directories by simply creating more alike lines:

%backupcmd% "...source dir..." "%drive%\...destination dir..."

For example, if you'd like to backup "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office"  to our destination "G:\Backup\MS Office" (and retain the directory structure) you'd need to add the following line to the batch file:

%backupcmd% "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office" "%drive%\MS Office"

Here is another example, backing up the Administrator Profile on a machine on the LAN with computer name "Lianli":

%backupcmd% "\\Lianli\c\Documents and Settings\Administrator"  "%drive%\Lianli - admin profile"

Remember, you have to save the batch file with either .bat or .cmd extension, then just double-click to execute it.

Using the Current Date

Sometimes it is useful to create folders with the date incorporated in the folder name. Here is how to set the variable folder to the current date (assuming US system date format):

set folder=%date:~10,4%_%date:~4,2%_%date:~7,2%
%backupcmd% "...source dir..." "%drive%\%folder%\...destination dir..."

It is also possible to use the current time in the folder name. The following example with incorporate both the current date and time to the minute, separated by underscores. There is an extra step that cleans up possible spaces in single-digit hours in the system time:

set hour=%time:~0,2%
if "%hour:~0,1%"==" " set hour=0%time:~1,1%
set folder=%date:~10,4%_%date:~4,2%_%date:~7,2%_%hour%_%time:~3,2%
%backupcmd% "...source dir..." "%drive%\%folder%\...destination dir..."

Example - dated directories

In the example below, we first set 3 variables: drive, folder, and backupcmd. The "drive" variable defines the root directory of our backups. The "folder" takes the 2 digit day value from the current date (US date format, taking 2 digits from the date command output, starting at the 7th character), which we will use as a subdirectory. The third variable, "backupcmd" defines our backup command with the appropriate command line switches we want to use.

@echo off
:: variables
set drive=D:\Backup
set folder=%date:~7,2%
set backupcmd=xcopy /s /c /d /e /h /i /r /k /y
echo ### Backing up directory...
%backupcmd% "C:\Program Files\somedirectory" "%drive%\%folder%"
echo Backup Complete!
@pause

This example will backup the "C:\Program Files\somedirectory" folder to "D:\Backup\[dd]" where [dd] is the current day of the month.  After a month, we will have 30ish daily copies of the backup... And, because of the xcopy command line switches chosen, following backups will only overwrite files that are newer, speeding up subsequent backups. Alternatively you can add a line to delete the %folder% directory prior to executing the %backupcmd% if you prefer to start clean (and take longer).

Cleaning up

It is usually a good idea to clean up temporary files, cookies, and history from the destination backup, as applicable. It is especially useful if you're backing up full, multiple user profiles and overwriting them periodically. Since temporary files and cookies change, your backed up directories will keep increasing with unnecessary files. To remedy this, the following code can be added to the backup script, or to a separate batch file. It will automatically search all subdirectories for "cookies", "temp" and "history", and then remove those directories:

:: change to the destination drive first
G:
:: your parent backup directory
drive=G:\Backup
echo ### Searching for files to clean up...
cd %drive%
dir /s/b/ad \cookies > %drive%\cleanup.txt
dir /s/b/ad \temp > %drive%\cleanup.txt
dir /s/b/ad \history > %drive%\cleanup.txt

echo ### Deleting cookies, temp files and history from backup dir
for /f "delims=" %%J in (%drive%\cleanup.txt) do rd "%%J" /Q/S

echo Cleanup complete
@pause

Note that you need to change to the destination drive, and the main backup directory before searching for files to delete. Any sub-folders that contain "cookies", "temp", or "history" will be deleted automatically. You can test to see what will be deleted by commenting out the "for /f ....." line (just add :: to the beginning of the line, or delete it from the batch file and add it again later). If that line is not present, the file will only list all files to be deleted in the cleaup.txt file, located in the destination directory (G:\Backup\cleanup.txt in the above example).  If you add the cleanup portion to the end of your  backup batch file, you may want to remove the "@pause" line at the end of the backup portion, so everything can execute without user interacion.

Alternatively, there is a simpler one-line method of deleting specific subdirectories after backing up. The disadvantage of using this method is that you'd need another line for each separate directory to be removed... In other words, it doesn't work well when removing a large number of directories by similar names. Still, here is an example:

rmdir /s /q "%drive%\%UserName%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files"

A Microsoft Windows user profile describes the Windows configuration for a specific user, including the user's environment and preference settings. The user profile contains those settings and configuration options specific to the user, such as installed applications, desktop icons, and color options. This profile is built in part from System Policy information (for example, those things that a user has access to and those things that the user can and cannot change) and in part from permitted, saved changes that a user makes to customize the desktop.

If you have administrative privileges, you can copy one user profile to another. To do this, follow the steps below for your operating system.

Windows XP

Note: The Windows XP default desktop view and Start menu are different from the Windows Classic View (e.g., in Windows 2000). Therefore, navigating to certain items can be different. In the interest of broad applicability, most Knowledge Base instructions assume you are using Classic View. For information about switching your Windows XP default view to Classic View, see In Windows XP, how do I switch to the Windows Classic View, Classic theme, or Classic Control Panel?

1. From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel. Double-click System.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then, under "UserProfile", click Settings.
3. Click the profile you want to copy and then click Copy to.
4. In the Copy To dialog box, click Browse to select the directory to which you want to copy the profile. This will usually be C:\winnt\profiles\username or C:\Documents and Settings\username, where username is the username of the profile to which you are copying. When you've selected the directory, click OK.
5. Under "Permitted to Use", click Change.
6. In the field labeled "Enter the object name to select:", enter the username of the user who needs to have rights to view this profile. Click Check Names to make sure that the user is found. If the user is not found, you may need to click Locations... to select the correct domain (or, if it is a local account, to select the computer name), and then click OK.
7. Click OK twice.
8. If you are prompted to continue, click Yes. Allow a minute for the system to copy the profile.
9. In the User Profiles window, click OK, and then click OK again in the System Properties window.

Windows NT and 2000

1. From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel. Double-click System.
2. Select User Profiles, and then click the profile you want to copy. Click Copy to.
3. In the Copy To dialog box, click Browse to select the directory to which you want to copy the profile. This will usually be C:\winnt\profiles\username or C:\Documents and Settings\username, where username is the username of the profile to which you are copying. When you've selected the directory, click OK.
4. Click Change... and select the user who will have permission to use the profile. For example, DOM1\janedoe will allow user janedoe on domain DOM1 to have access to the profile.

   You can search Microsoft's knowledge base at:               www.http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx

5. Click OK three times.

Windows 95 and 98

Make sure that you are not logged in under the profile that you want to copy to.

1. Double-click My Computer. Go to the Windows\Profiles directory (usually at C:\Windows\Profiles).
2. Double-click the folder of the profile you want to copy.
3. Select all of the folders and files in that profile by pressing Ctrl-a . From the Edit menu, select Copy.
4. Go back to the Profiles directory, and double-click the folder of the profile you want to copy to.
5. From the Edit menu, select Paste.
6. Click Yes to All to overwrite the old profile.

SUMMARY

MORE INFORMATION

Create a new user profile on the domain computer

Create a new user profile on the workgroup computer

Copy files to the new user profile

SUMMARY

This article describes how to copy user data from your Windows XP profile to a new profile.
When you copy user data into a new profile, the new profile becomes a near duplicate of the old profile, and contains the same preferences, appearance, and documents as the old profile. If your old profile is corrupted in some way, you can move the files and settings from the corrupt profile to a new profile.
Note The method that is described in this article may not transfer the Outlook Express e-mail messages and address user data that are associated with the user profile where you are transferring data from. When you delete the old profile, you may delete that data if it you do not first transfer it by using other methods. For more information about transferring Outlook Express user data, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

313055 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313055/) Mail folders, address book, and e-mail messages are missing after you upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP

Back to the top

MORE INFORMATION

Create a new user profile on the domain computer

1.
Log on as the Administrator or as a user with administrator credentials.

2.
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

3.
Click User Accounts.

4.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Advanced.

5.
In the left pane, click the Users folder.

6.
On the Action menu, click New User.

7.
Enter the appropriate user information, and then click Create.

Back to the top

Create a new user profile on the workgroup computer

1.
Log on as the Administrator or as a user with administrator credentials.

2.
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

3.
Click User Accounts.

4.
Under Pick a task, click Create a new account.

5.
Type a name for the user information, and then click Next.

6.
Click an account type, and then click Create Account.

Back to the top

Copy files to the new user profile

1.
Log on as a user other than the user whose profile you are copying files to or from.

2.
In Windows Explorer, click Tools, click Folder Options, click the View tab, click Show hidden files and folders, click to clear the Hide protected operating system files check box, and then click OK.

3.
Locate the C:\Documents and Settings\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive on which Windows XP is installed, and Old_Username is the name of the profile you want to copy user data from.

4.
Press and hold down the CTRL key while you click each file and subfolder in this folder, except the following files:

•
Ntuser.dat

•
Ntuser.dat.log

•
Ntuser.ini

5.
On the Edit menu, click Copy.

6.
Locate the C:\Documents and Settings\New_Username folder, where C is the drive on which Windows XP is installed, and New_Username is the name of the user profile that you created in the "Create a New User Profile" section.

7.
On the Edit menu, click Paste.

8.
Log off the computer, and then log on as the new user.
Note You must import your e-mail messages and addresses to the new user profile before you delete the old profile. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

313055 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313055/) Mail folders, address book, and e-mail messages are missing after you upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP