How to reset offline files on a Windows client

Sometimes when using Offline Files, you can run into problems where synchronization fails. If you are getting a bunch of errors in Sync Center, you can try different steps to straighten them out.

You can try to turn off the Offline Files, delete temporary files, delete offline copies, etc. but sometimes it is easier just to reset the CSC database. If you do this, the result will be as if you had never enabled Offline Files on the client. Then, all you need to do is go back and reselect the folders and files you want to synchronize.

Keep in mind, however, that if you use this command all local copies of the files and folders will be gone (the server side files and folders remain). So, if your latest versions are on the client, you may not want to do this. If, however, you are confident that the server side versions are sufficient, then you can do the following to start fresh with Offline Files on your Windows client.

Run this command from an elevated command prompt:

REG ADD "HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC\Parameters" /v FormatDatabase /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

After running the above command, reboot the client. You can now start fresh with Offline Files on the client machine.