Client size cache folder way too large 1

[bobbiedigital]

Hi my csc folder seems to be around 8GB large, ive gone to windows explorer -> folder options -> offline files and checked that the limit is set to 2GB, but for some reason it seems to be 8GB, ive used the delete function to make it smaller, but it goes straight back up to 8Gb, the HD is only 18GB large. I dont really want to use cachemov.exe as i dont have any other drives, any help will be appreciated.

Thanks Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

Need more details about your setting. One possibility:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304624

 

[bobbiedigital]

What settings do you need to know?

Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

. Workgroup client, or Domain client
. Group Policy used to establish CSC options?
. If Domain, redirected folders?
. If Domain, Roaming profile?

 

[bobbiedigital]

PC is a domain client, Group policy is used to establish csc options i believe, not sure about redirected folders, and yes it does have roaming profiles. I hope this helps.

Thankyou
Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

Here is what puzzle me:

In Windows 2000 and Windows XP there is a 2GB limit on the amount of files that can be stored in the Offline Files cache. The cache size setting on the Offline Files property page does not currently consider this limit when adjusting the cache size. Therefore, if you set the control to a value greater than 2GB, the control will be positioned at 2GB the next time you open the Offline Files property page. (Try it and see).

Note that the cache size setting in the Offline Files property page applies only to auto-cached files. Those are files opened from network shares configured for "Automatic Caching". Files cached via the "Make Available Offline" option in the Windows Shell are not subject to this size setting.

The 2GB limit applies collectively to all files cached; both auto-cached and "pinned" files. Files cached via "Make Available Offline" are also known as "pinned" files.

So a report of an 8GB offline CSC just does not ring true to me, unless it is being added to from redirected folders, offline web content, or some other means than the offline file feature.

 

[bcastner]

If you have Roaming Profiles (hereafter, RP) and use Offline Files (herafter, OF) on My Documents folders (redirected or not), you've violated the "rule" - you should not do both. The My Documents folder is [part] of the RP. So, when you logon, it gets cached on the workstation (along with the rest of the profile), and the "non-working" copy stays in the share where you store RPs. That's normal with RP, but how that process interacts with the rest of what you're doing is unpredictable and will yield unexpected results. The local My Documents folder gets redirected to the user's "home" directory. Offline files syncs that directory (from the user's "home" directory) at some scheduled time, logon, logoff, any/all of the above (or some different OF configuration) with the OF local cache -- before, after or during caching of the RP? Who knows?

Now you have a nicely circular reference for the location of the My Documents folder: Is it the local copy of the folder contained in the RP, or is it the folder that already existed (before logon) in the user's home directory? If you delete a subfolder of the My Documents folder located in the user's home directory and logoff, I can imagine a scenario where the deleted folder would be resynced back out to the network. How can the workstation know what to do with a folder which has no clear path of origin?

Even if all these processes were processed synchronously, you'd have a strange outcome at logon: Cache RP from network share to local file system, redirect local copy of My Documents folder to a different network share, now cache the contents of the My Documents folder (on that second share) back to the offline files cache. Whew!

If you're going to use RP, don't use Folder Redirection on the My Documents folder (or any other components of the Roaming Profile); it already exists on the network.

If you're going to use Folder Redirection and/or Offline Files on folders in the profile, don't use Roaming Profiles.

Some people use FR with OF to get partial emulation of RP without the administrative hassles (and regsitry-release problems prior to Win XP). It also provides a benefit to laptop users; when away from the office, they can continue to use their My Documents folder as normal (because it's contents will be resynched with the network when they reconnect to it). (If you use pure Roaming Profiles, your roaming profile is unavailable when diconnected, and changes to the cached copy aren't resynched to the network when you logoff or reconnect; so, changes to My Documents are lost.) Instead of RP, you use local user profiles and redirect some folders to the network so they're available from any workstation you log into.

Both strategies entail tradeoffs and they work well (though RP won't work as advertised until workstations are all WinXP), but shouldn't be used together. You could be using them together, leading to two local copies of your profile.

Special thanks to Andy Vaya for making this distinction clear to me.

 

[bobbiedigital]

ok i understand, so would a suitable test to see if the files are being added from say offline internet files to Internet Explorer -> tools -> internet options -> settings and see which directory it is being redirected too? and possiibly to resize the amount of HD allocated to storing offline web content? so any other redirected folders would be stated in the group policy?

Cheers
Bobbie

 

[bobbiedigital]

Your right, the my documents is being redirected to the users home directory. thanks for the help!.
Bobbie

 

[bcastner]

You are very welcome.
Bill Castner