Why does "Enable offline files" uncheck itself after a reboot?
After my two previous posts on debugging offline files, I’ve had four requests via comments and email, all saying pretty much the same thing: “why do offline files stop working after I restart my computer?” The most visible symptom is that the “Enable offline files” checkbox gets cleared after a reboot. I passed this request along to the team responsible for offline files, aka client-side caching, and here’s an explanation from Brian Aust.
These are the checks that are made on CSC startup:
- CSC is not enabled on Home Edition
- CSC is not enabled when terminal server is configured for multiple concurrent users
- CSC is not enabled when either the user’s (admin user) preference or Group Policy says it should be disabled
- CSC is not enabled when either of the following REG_DWORD registry values is set to zero:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\NetCache\Enabled
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\ Windows\NetCache\Enabled
ONLY if all those conditions are met will the checkbox stay enabled over a reboot — so if you’re suffering from this problem, those are the four things to check!
Update: for additional things to check, see the comments below, and this later blog post.
Edit: I've turned off comments on this thread - if you have a question, please go here instead.
Comments
- Anonymous
December 06, 2004
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December 06, 2004
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December 08, 2004
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December 09, 2004
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December 09, 2004
I have this exact same problem with 3 XP laptops (Dell, Toshiba, Sony). The only thing in common is SP2 and Norton AV Corporate Edition.
I thought that it was related to a service that was disabled, but I ruled that out. I'd sure like to see a fix for this or some sort of work around. Thanks for your help. - Anonymous
December 09, 2004
Brian - Thanks for the problem report. The more examples the product team have of when this doesn't work, the better. - Anonymous
December 09, 2004
Ryan - If your user has reconnected to the network but not synchronized, they should only be seeing the files and folders they marked for offline use. - Anonymous
December 13, 2004
I'm seeing the same symptoms on an XP sp2 laptop. I can manually setup offline files. Reboot and it is disabled again. I have this working well on several other computers. This one user is all I've seen this issue with. I'm really in need of a work around or patch or just an answer. Thanks. - Anonymous
December 29, 2004
I am having the same problem with an XP SP2 laptop. Enable offline files becomes unchecked on reboot. Any developments? - Anonymous
January 01, 2005
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April 13, 2005
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April 14, 2005
Eric - Try the solution from this later blog post: http://blogs.msdn.com/jonathanh/archive/2005/01/16/354049.aspx
It includes contributions from a couple of readers who found they needed extra steps to solve their problems. So far I haven't had feedback from anyone who this hasn't worked for. Let me know either way! - Anonymous
May 03, 2005
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August 21, 2006
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