Check and Sync Offline Files on MiWorkspace Windows Computer

Owned by Terrence S Miller
Last updated: May 04, 2018
4 min read

This documentation should be used for units that are migrating from the MiWorkspace full service to Windows Platform as a Service. The steps in this document are applicable to computers running Windows 7 that have Folder Redirection and Offline Files enabled. These steps must be performed prior to migrating a user's home folder from UHD to departmental storage.

Step-by-step guide

Although Windows 7 machines used Folder Redirection and Offline Files, data does not always get synced up to the network and could be lost because User State Migration does not backup the offline files cache. Files that are stored locally in the Offline Files cache and are not synced up to the network are called “dirty” files. When migrating a Windows 7 user's home directory from UHD to departmental storage, it is critical to make sure all files are synced which is indicated by there being zero dirty files. These steps must be followed in order to prevent data loss!

  1. Check if the Windows 7 computer object is in the EUC-DisableOfflineFiles Active Directory group. If the computer object is a member of EUC-DisableOfflineFiles the remaining steps in this document are not necessary because there is no local Offline Files Cache.
  2. Have the user login to the computer. Note that if this is a shared machine, the entire process must be followed for all users of the computer.
  3. Check the Sync Center control panel to see if there are no errors and a sync has completed. There may be conflicts you can easily resolve.
  4. After checking for sync conflicts in Sync Center, use PowerShell as an additional check to identify any sync conflicts that did not show up in Sync Center. While this situation is rare, it's worthwhile to check. Follow the steps below:
    1. As the user (not admin) Go to the Start Menu and type “Powershell” to open a Powershell command prompt.
    2. Type the following: (Get-WmiObject -query "SELECT * FROM Win32_OfflineFilesItem Where DirtyInfo.LocalDirtyByteCount > 0" | measure).count . 

      This command can take 5-30+ minutes depending on the size of the cache.

      If you get an error about execution policy when trying to run this - run the following command: Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -force . 

    3. If you see an error like this one below you have put the powershell command in wrong (there is likely a typo):

    4. An error like this one below indicates that the offline files cache is disabled or broken:

  5. If the powershell command completed successfully and returns 0, then there are no dirty files and the machine is ready to migrate.

  6. If the command returns greater than 0, there are dirty files. Go to Sync Center and run a sync.
  7. If there are errors on the sync, or if there are still dirty files, then more complex offline files cache problem remediation is necessary. See Additional Troubleshooting Steps below.


Additional Troubleshooting Steps

If the steps above don't successfully resolve offline file sync issues, review and try these troubleshooting steps.

  1. Is the problem occurring on a Laptop and/or off-campus? Issues can arise between various IPv6 configurations and DirectAccess. To rule out these issues, Laptops should have IPv6 unbound from the computer’s Wireless adapter. You can do this by unticking IPv6 option on the Wireless Card adapter’s configuration.
  2. Are permission settings correct on the user’s Network Home Folder? Verify that the user has Modify and Traverse Rights on the root of their Network Home Folder (See KB0016501 for details on how to do this.)
  3. Are there file paths in the user’s Home Folder that could exceed a 260 character limit for file paths? Offline Files can have issues syncing if the full path to files exceeds 260 characters. Remember that the path to the Offline Files Cache (C:\Windows\CSC) counts towards the 260 character path limit. Files in the CSC cache with paths longer than 260 characters will not sync. To determine if the path length is the issue, you may need to view the files on the Offline Files Cache. Unfortunately, very strict permissions prevent even administrators to peek inside the cache – only SYSTEM has full access. The free tool Run As System can start arbitrary processes as local system. Pick your favorite file system browser, run it as system and you have full access to the CSC. Windows Explorer does not work, though: it cannot be run as different user. Total Commander or other similar applications should work well, too. You can also use the Windows Command Prompt, CMD.exe, to browse the Offline Files Cache if CMD.EXE is run as System.