I have 8 different OUs. I will call them OU1 - OU8.
Each OU has a GPO assigned to it to redirect client Desktops and My Documents to domain-based DFS shares. The GPO for OU1 redirects to \\Domain\OU1\data. OU2 redirects to \\Domain\OU2\data, and so on. Most of the clients in the network are XP SP3. Redirection for all clients is working perfectly.
The problem is with Offline Files. None of the clients in OU1, OU2, OU5, and OU8 can use offline files. The computers redirect their folders perfectly, and they even synchronize the offline files. If I check in the My Documents folder properties under Offline Files, I can view the offline files and see they are synchronized. But when I unplug the network cable, all the files on the desktop vanish and I only receive an error message when I try to open the My Documents folder. Clients in OU3, OU4, OU6, and OU7 can access offline files normally.
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- I have reviewed all permissions on all shares and all folders. All settings for all the OU's target folders are identical. There is no difference between the ones that work and the ones that do not.
- The problem is not with the GPO in the OU. I have rebuilt the GPO and it still doesn't work. They have the exact same settings as the OUs that work. There are no other GPOs acting on the OU.
- I have deleted and rebuilt the DFS Domain-Based Namespace for the broken OUs. This did not fix the problems. The DFS namespaces that do not work have the exact same settings at the those that are working.
- The Offline File Settings found in Share and Storage Management on the DFS servers show all the same settings for all shared folders, both those that work and those that do not allow access to offline files. They are all currently set for "Only the files and programs users specify are available offline." I have also tried setting this to "All Files..." for the affected users and it had no effect.
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
- Moving a user from an OU that doesn't work to an OU that is working DOES NOT fix the problem.
- Changing the broken OU's redirection to access a single DFS server directly allows the client to use offline files properly. For example, intructing the client via GPO to redirect to \\Domain\OU1\data DOES NOT WORK, but changing the GPO to use \\Server\share (where this is the same folder target as the DFS path) allows the client to work with offline properly.
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What setting would cause problems only for some clients, in specific OUs, that are trying to use offline files ONLY when the originals are stored in folder targets accessed via DFS Namepsace path. but NOT when the originals are stored using standard UNC path to a server directly?