Export Troubleshooting

This page lists the most common export issues, their causes, and how to resolve them. For general diagnostics, see Where to Find Logs and Creating a Diagnostics Bundle.

Preflight Failures

AppProfileSafe runs a preflight validation before every export. If any check fails, the export does not start. The preflight checks for exports include:

• Administrator privileges
• Valid license
• Configuration integrity (settings.xml, event pipeline config, Schema folder, AppDefinitions folder)
• App definition existence and schema validation (per selected app)
• Export target is writable
• Sufficient disk space at the target location
• SIEM connectivity (if configured and active)

Fix the reported issue and retry the export. You can also run preflight independently via CLI: AppProfileSafe.exe --preflight --export --manifestFile "..." --apps "..."

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
Administrator privileges are required	AppProfileSafe was not started with elevated rights	Right-click AppProfileSafe.exe → Run as administrator, or run from an elevated command prompt. Exit code: 2.
AppProfileSafe is already running (single instance active)	Another instance of AppProfileSafe is running (GUI or CLI)	Close the other instance and try again. AppProfileSafe uses a system-wide mutex to prevent concurrent operations.
Cannot determine export root directory	The --manifestFile path does not contain a valid directory	Ensure the path includes a directory, e.g. C:\Backup\Manifest.xml instead of just Manifest.xml
Invalid manifest file name	The manifest file name (without extension) is empty or invalid	Use a valid file name for the manifest
Failed to prepare data directory	The export target folder cannot be created or an existing data folder cannot be deleted (permissions, locked files)	Ensure write access to the target folder. Close any applications that may have files open in the existing data folder.

Registry Export Issues

Warning / Error	Cause	Solution
Registry key not found: ...	The key path in the app definition does not exist on this machine (application not installed or different user)	Verify the registry path in the definition. Update or remove the entry if the application is not installed.
Access denied to registry key ...	The current user does not have read permissions for this key, even with administrator rights (common for certain HKLM keys)	Check the key's permissions in regedit. Some system keys are protected by TrustedInstaller and cannot be read. The item is skipped, but the export continues.
Access denied to registry value ...	Same as above, but for a specific value rather than an entire key	Same solution as for registry keys
Registry export failed for 'AppName'	An unexpected error occurred during registry export for this application	Check the log file for the full error details. Other applications continue to export.

File Export Issues

Warning / Error	Cause	Solution
Folder '...' not found, skipping	The folder path in the definition (after environment variable expansion) does not exist	Verify the folder path. Check that environment variables resolve correctly on this machine. The item is skipped with a "skipped (not found)" result.
File '...' not found, skipping	Same as above, but for a single file	Same solution as for folders
File copy failures (items skipped due to errors)	Files are locked by another process, permission denied, or the disk ran out of space during the copy	Close applications that may lock the files. Ensure sufficient disk space. The failed count is shown in the progress window and logged as a warning.
ACL extraction warning	The NTFS security descriptor could not be read for a file or folder	The file is still exported but without SDDL data. This is typically caused by access restrictions. ACL will not be restorable for this item during import.

License and SIEM Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
License error (exit code 3)	License is missing, invalid, expired (beyond grace period), or the public key is not found	See License Troubleshooting
SIEM connection failed (exit code 4)	SIEM integration is configured and marked active in siem.xml, but the endpoint is unreachable	Check SIEM endpoint, port, and firewall rules. The application will not start if SIEM is active but unreachable. See Event Delivery Troubleshooting.
Audit log integrity check failed (exit code 5)	The audit CSV hash chain is broken (files may have been tampered with)	Investigate the audit files. A security event is dispatched to the event pipeline. See Audit Logging.

UNC Network Share Errors

When exporting to a network share, additional errors may occur:

Error	Solution
UNC connection failed	Verify the UNC path, credentials, and network connectivity. In the GUI, the credential dialog appears automatically. In the CLI, use --unc-user / --unc-password or --unc-credential-store.
Access denied on UNC share	The authenticated user does not have write permissions on the share. Check share and NTFS permissions.

See Working with UNC Paths and Network & UNC Troubleshooting for details.

Definition Validation Errors

Error	Solution
Definition not found	The .xml file for the specified application does not exist in the AppDefinitions folder. Create the definition first using the definition editor.
Invalid format (in Export window)	The definition file fails XSD validation. Click edit to open the raw XML editor and fix the issue.
Strict validation failed (CLI with --strictAppSchemaValidation)	One or more definitions fail XSD validation. Fix the definitions and retry. Without --strictAppSchemaValidation, the CLI uses best-effort and only logs warnings.

Where to Look

• Application log: Detailed error messages and stack traces. See Where to Find Logs.
• Progress window (GUI): Per-item results (Success, Failed, Skipped) with source and destination paths.
• Console output (CLI): Pipe-separated progress lines. Use without --silentMode for diagnostics.
• Run report: JSON report saved in the Report folder. See Run Reports.
• Audit log: Records ExportStarted, ExportCompleted, ExportCompletedWithErrors, or ExportFailed. See Audit Logging.