Desktop app is destroying NTFS Junctions

Desktop App Bug Report
1

hi
i have a weird problem: the Bliizard battle net app keeps destroying NTFS JUNCTIONS on my drive!

i have created some NTFS junctions for WoW, from some WoW folders to my Dropbox folder:

C:\Games\World of Warcraft\_classic_\Interface\Addons\
C:\Games\World of Warcraft\_classic_\WTF\Account\
C:\Games\World of Warcraft\_classic_\Screenshots\
(and the same for \_retail_)

linked via NTFS Junctions to dedicated folders under my Dropbox folder.

I’m doing this for real-time backups and synchronization of addons and SavedVariables between my main gaming PC and my travel laptop.

I’ve been doing this for more than 5 years now and it worked flawlessly until recently since Classic WoW was lainched, i regularly find that the Blizzard Battle net app is requesting admin elevation and even if i deny it then it starts destroying the NTFS Junctions that link my WoW folders to my Dropbox account and thus i end up in game without any addons or SavedVariables data.
(it can do this without elevation because the user account has “full access” ACL to the c:\Games\ folder and anything in there.)

Can you please make the Blizzard battle net app stop destroying my real-time backups and synchronized addons?

Today it happened again, i took care to look at the Agent logs… and i caught it in the act !

These are EXACTLY the dates that i have been affected by deleted NTFS junctions. This is where the app is deleting NTFS Junctions by simply making new folders on top of them !!!

[I 2019-09-13 18:04:30.0873] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_classic_"

[I 2019-09-21 10:26:14.0256] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_classic_"

[I 2019-09-25 18:23:45.0699] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_retail_"

[I 2019-09-26 16:14:43.0312] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_retail_"
6 Likes
2

That is not all the Agent is deleting. “tmp” folders, for some reason, are on its kill list, too.

2 Likes
3

@LocutusMors
I have created a Windows Scheduled Task that use the FileSystemWatcher Class to monitor for WoW Updates and executes your own PowerShell code when a change is found.
Can be found on GitHub. Import the XML into Task Scheduler and save the ps1 file to C:\Scripts.
The code I have chosen to execute in my local version immediately recreates all my symlinks when an update is detected, thought I have not uploaded this.
github[dot]com/eTzmNcbkrng/WoWUpdateWatcher

4

I am on the same boat. Junction are being deleted all the time.

1 Like
5

I posted question on EU forums about this too. Still not fixed as of the update that ran this morning (1/10/19).

1 Like
6

[I 2019-10-03 17:41:01.0509] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_retail_"

yep… another update… and it wiped my NTFS junctions as usual :frowning:

1 Like
7

It deletes normal symlinks as well, super annoying.

1 Like
8

For the love of God, please prioritize fixing this. It’s incredibly disruptive to addon developers whose repos are in a different location (i.e. almost all addon authors).

9

Please do fix the symlink deletion behavior.

10

Please fix, very annoying. Why is it even trying to sanitize things this much? That’s dangerous and could potentially delete precious user files. Just like when the classic and retail folders were first introduced, my chat log files got obliterated.

11

I have noticed this issue just the past week or so. I took a break a week or two after classic released and the came back and couldn’t see any of my files so I took a look and the links were broken. I fixed them and then after relogging they where gone again. Please fix this.

12

more NTFS Junction wipes in recent days… i was on the edge about renewing my subscription or not… this makes me even more to think “not”.
To all my users from Curseforge… sorry, but i cannot stand to rebuild my testing environment every few days just because Blizzard likes to screw with my nerves.

    [I 2019-10-05 05:16:27.0047] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_retail_"
    [I 2019-10-05 05:16:54.0164] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_classic_"
    [I 2019-10-08 19:12:27.0050] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_classic_"

**October 13th update:** another week ... more BattleNet updates and more NTFS junctions wipes ... is anyone at Blizzard even trying to fix this? :frowning: 
C:\ProgramData\Battle.net\Agent\Agent.6847\Logs\Agent-20191010T151527.log
[I 2019-10-10 19:02:13.0103] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_retail_"

C:\ProgramData\Battle.net\Agent\Agent.6847\Logs\Agent-20191013T091810.log
[I 2019-10-13 09:18:28.0344] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_retail_"
13

Any word on this being resolved or even looked into Blizz?

14 
C:\ProgramData\Battle.net\Agent\Agent.6847\Logs\Agent-20191016T165834.log
[I 2019-10-16 16:58:51.0408] Executing operation: create_folder folderPath="C:/Games/World of Warcraft/_retail_"

yep… i just had another episode of disappearing NTFS junctions , courtesy of Blizzard. :frowning:

15

This is still broken.