NVP-vProxy: File Level Recovery generates error "Cannot create handle for: The system cannot find the path specified"
Summary: Virtual Machine (VM) FLR performed through the NetWorker VMware Protection (NVP) vProxy appliance fails with "cannot create handle .. the system cannot find the path specified" when the file path exceeds 260 characters. ...
Symptoms
File Level Recovery (FLR) of a Microsoft Windows VM fails with the following message:
159373:nsrvproxy_flr_recover: vProxy Log: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ERROR: [89] Discovery: Cannot get security data for 'C:\Program Files (x86)\EMC\vProxy FLR Agent\flr\mountpoints\FLR#########\00-E$\A Very\Long\Directory\Path\To\The\File\filename.doc': The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
159373:nsrvproxy_flr_recover: vProxy Log: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS WARN: [89] Discovery: Cannot get attributes for 'C:\Program Files (x86)\EMC\vProxy FLR Agent\flr\mountpoints\FLR#########\00-E$\A Very\Long\Directory\Path\To\The\File\filename.doc': Cannot get security data for 'C:\Program Files (x86)\EMC\vProxy FLR Agent\flr\mountpoints\FLR#########\00-E$\A Very\Long\Directory\Path\To\The\File\filename.doc': The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
159373:nsrvproxy_flr_recover: vProxy Log: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ERROR: [89] Recovery: Cannot create handle for 'C:\Program Files (x86)\EMC\vProxy FLR Agent\flr\mountpoints\FLR#########\00-E$\A Very\Long\Directory\Path\To\The\File\filename.doc': The system cannot find the path specified.
Cause
The Microsoft Windows New Technology File System (NTFS) supports a path depth (File and Folder names) of up to 32,000 characters, but the Win32 Shell is limited to a maximum of 260 characters. The FLR error is caused because the file path and name exceeds the Win32 Shell character limit.
Resolution
Starting with Microsoft Windows 10 and 2016 Operating Systems, a new option is available to enable Win32 Shell long paths. This setting is an "opt-in" feature and is not enabled by default. To resolve the FLR error, the Win32 long paths option should be enabled on the target client.
To enable the "Enable Win32 long paths" option in the Group Policy Editor, navigate to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Filesystem
For more information and alternate procedures to enable Win32 long paths, see the "Enable Long Paths in Windows 10, Version 1607, and Later" section of the "Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces" Microsoft Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/naming-a-file 