2006/08/28

Offline files errors during synchronization

If you ever find the following error message when synching your Offline Files (Client Side Caching - CSC):
Unable to merge offline changes on \\server_name\share_name. The parameter is incorrect.
Or any of the following:
Using last known good configuration
File not found
More Details Available

You can apply the following procedure: How to re-initialize the offline files cache and database

Links: How to re-initialize the offline files cache and database Clint's post on Debugging Problems With Offline Files dated Tuesday, November 08, 2005 8:56 PM.

More errors: But there are other things that can happen (and really happen after all) sometimes. You might also get an Access is Denied error and it is not always because of wrong permissions. If you are sure that your NTFS permissions are correctly configured (because it works perfectly for other users, for instance) and still get the access denied error, you can try this:

  1. Disable the NIC
  2. Create an new file (anything will do) in the directory you are trying to synchronise
  3. Re-enable the NIC
  4. Synchronise
More links: Anonymous comments on Power Up Offline Files dated Tuesday - 1/13/04 says:
I know it is easy to complain but administrators need less fluff more substance. Your article gives a 5000 foot view. I can get all the 5000 foot view information from MS documentation... Offline files is great feature not just for mobile users but as a way to have “My Documents” be available to users when network connectivity is down and have them on a central file server for easy backup. Unfortunately, it either works or it does not. There is no middle ground and virtually nothing in the way of troubleshooting. For instance, it is not uncommon to receive an "Access is Denied" error when first configured. MS states that it is a permissions issue. However, this is not always the case. In a recent migration of 2000 users, we ran into this error 5% of the time. The fix is to disable the NIC, create a new file, enable the NIC and synchronize. Why? I do not know but it fixes it. This is the type of information that is truly useful.
Simply the kind of things that NOBODY would ever think about, but DO solve the problem.

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