I'd like to do a clean OS install, what is the best process of backing up / preserving my sandboxes (including all settings and data) in order to restore them afterwords? A link to existing documentation would be fine, but I couldn't find anything written about this process. Thank you.
Migrating Sandboxes (OS Refresh)
- Thread starter sb2024
- Start date
The sandbox configuration is stored in the Sandboxie.ini, which is typically located in C:\Windows, while the user interface of Sandboxie-Plus stores its settings in the Sandboxie-Plus.ini, which is typically located in the user folder C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Xanasoft\Sandboxie-Plus.
Copy the files to some safe place and move them back.
For the contents of the sandboxes, you have to back up the folders along with all the files. The default path is C:\Sandbox\
1) Copy Sandboxie.ini, Sandboxie-Plus.ini and the folders of the sandboxes to a safe place.
2) Install Sandboxie-Plus again. There is no need to run it.
3) Copy Sandboxie.ini, Sandboxie-Plus.ini and the folders of the sandboxes back to their original places.
Sandboxie has a feature to export and import boxes (right-click on a box, select Sandbox Tools > Export Box; Sandbox > Import Box), which covers the files of a sandbox and its settings, but that can be more time-consuming, depending on the amount of boxes.
Copy the files to some safe place and move them back.
For the contents of the sandboxes, you have to back up the folders along with all the files. The default path is C:\Sandbox\
1) Copy Sandboxie.ini, Sandboxie-Plus.ini and the folders of the sandboxes to a safe place.
2) Install Sandboxie-Plus again. There is no need to run it.
3) Copy Sandboxie.ini, Sandboxie-Plus.ini and the folders of the sandboxes back to their original places.
Sandboxie has a feature to export and import boxes (right-click on a box, select Sandbox Tools > Export Box; Sandbox > Import Box), which covers the files of a sandbox and its settings, but that can be more time-consuming, depending on the amount of boxes.
Thank you very much for the guidance.
This has worked:
1) Back up C:\Windows\Sandboxie.ini
2) Back up C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Xanasoft\Sandboxie-Plus\Sandboxie-Plus.ini
This I have a question about:
Inside of C:\Sandbox is a folder called "Windows" and a file called DONT-USE.TXT (which has one line, "This folder is a work area created by the program Sandboxie."
Inside the C:\Sandbox\Windows folder folder it has another DONT-USE.TXT file, one "folder shortcut" per sandbox, and one .box file per sandbox. Double-clicking on the folder shortcuts displays and OS dialog saying "You have been denied permission to access this folder".
Should I just back up the entire C:\Sandbox folder anyway (and no need to export sandboxes individually in that case)? [Edit: It lets me copy the .box files, but not the files which have a little shortcut arrow on them.]
This has worked:
1) Back up C:\Windows\Sandboxie.ini
2) Back up C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Xanasoft\Sandboxie-Plus\Sandboxie-Plus.ini
This I have a question about:
Inside of C:\Sandbox is a folder called "Windows" and a file called DONT-USE.TXT (which has one line, "This folder is a work area created by the program Sandboxie."
Inside the C:\Sandbox\Windows folder folder it has another DONT-USE.TXT file, one "folder shortcut" per sandbox, and one .box file per sandbox. Double-clicking on the folder shortcuts displays and OS dialog saying "You have been denied permission to access this folder".
Should I just back up the entire C:\Sandbox folder anyway (and no need to export sandboxes individually in that case)? [Edit: It lets me copy the .box files, but not the files which have a little shortcut arrow on them.]
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I am aware that Sandboxie creates the DONT-USE.TXT in the root folder of the default sandbox storage path and in the root folder of each sandbox. The file is used to tell the user that this is created by Sandboxie and using it for something other than the sandbox is not a good idea. It could lead to data loss if Sandboxie is instructed to empty the sandbox, thereby clearing files in the sandbox folders that the user placed there.
I am not aware of the DONT-USE.TXT being created else where. (I just don't know about it, maybe there are instances where it has other reasons to create those files.)
This should only exist if a Sandbox is named "Windows". If "Sandbox" would be the root of some sandbox, it should contain "drive\C\Windows"
.box is used for encrypted sandboxes and contains the folder structure as well as files. There should be a corresponding folder when the encrypted sandbox is mounted, which Sandboxie protects from access, unless this option was not enabled. Once unmounted the folder is supposed to be gone, changes are supposed to be stored in the .box file
For those sandboxes that are created with a .box file, it should be enough to have the .box file copied. When you can copy the whole C:\Sandbox folder, you should have all files and folders you need, for sandboxes that are not encrypted.
There might be files and folders where Sandboxie created junctions. Please make sure there is no process running in the sandboxes and the encrypted sandboxes are not mounted.
If someone with more technical insight can shine some more light onto this, that would be nice.
Files with the
Warning: Normal file copying methods will remove the SPARSE property, causing these files to expand to their full size.
Recommended methods to preserve SPARSE property:
1. Using Sandboxie-Plus:
2. Alternative method:
.box extension are SPARSE files, meaning they only consume disk space for their actual stored data rather than their full allocated size. Warning: Normal file copying methods will remove the SPARSE property, causing these files to expand to their full size.Recommended methods to preserve SPARSE property:
1. Using Sandboxie-Plus:
- Export the boxes while they are mounted (via Sandboxie-Plus > Right-click on the box > Sandbox Tools > Export Box)
- Re-import them later when needed (via Sandboxie-Plus > Sandbox > Import Box)
2. Alternative method:
- Use third-party tools (e.g., file managers) with explicit SPARSE file support for direct copying.