tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post4062650293133113492..comments2022-03-25T11:02:45.877-04:00Comments on Vista Vitals: Folder Redirection: Misbehaves after target moveGordon Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-43078762799201417682012-12-11T17:37:12.440-05:002012-12-11T17:37:12.440-05:00How's this for a fast reply? :-)
Actually, I ...How's this for a fast reply? :-)<br />Actually, I can confirm that the problems that lead to this solution still exist in Windows 8, so I fully expect this script to continue to function.<br />Within the confines of a Windows implementation, I have no regrets with the solutions we chose. We had discovered the majority of our problems before going live and mitigated those with the various solutions found in this blog. Although the script may look daunting, it has been a breeze to maintain. No modifications have been required and it has not given us any nasty surprises. I really don't know how anyone can have a safe Folder Redirection experience without it. <br />Duplication of folders is unavoidable without the "Move data" option. All of our GPO folder redirection destinations would have been impossible to manage within the confines of the GPMC interface - using the Home Path within the user's profile was a must.<br />It really isn't possible to have an environment where the paths never change. You may be able to avoid it for some years, but ultimately new staff won't be aware of the pitfall of a path change and will fall right in. DFS isn't of any help either. Server names may no longer change, but if names are based on organizational, locational or functional relationships, those will be required to change for one reason or another. The only way to avoid change is to start using ridiculous meaningless names like serial numbers or cartoon character names or something.<br />The nice thing about the script above is that it doesn't need to be implemented before implementation time. It can be slipstreamed in anytime since it just swaps out the harcoded names with varioables that get to be spoofed later. The only problem is that it must be done before any migration/change takes place. No one will have the presence of mind to not implement this solution with the plan to remain static, then 2 years down the road decide to implement because they realize they have an unavioidable change coming. I am very curious about how many companies have spent time with Microsoft trying to fix lost data problems, etc. I imagine a great many of them are very thankful for their backup solutions.Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-71282319327392130442012-12-11T16:03:41.079-05:002012-12-11T16:03:41.079-05:00Nice that you still reply :). Wish you the best in...Nice that you still reply :). Wish you the best in your new challenges.<br /><br />If you remember, what would your BEST PRACTICE be if you're building new? Make sure you keep the redirected folders on a path that will "NEVER" change so you don't have to worry about "filservermigration"? I guess that would mean DFS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-41552706813467546402012-12-11T10:51:25.409-05:002012-12-11T10:51:25.409-05:00Hello Anonymouses,
Thank you for your kind words. ...Hello Anonymouses,<br />Thank you for your kind words. It was nice to fill the void back in the Windows Vista days when there was almost no information available on the subject. It's nice to see that this blog still has a place.<br />Regarding newer versions of Windows. I have moved onto other challenges and so haven't been in a position to explore or test these features any longer. But it is my understanding that the architecture in Windows 7 has remained largely untouched since Vista so virtually every article in this blog still holds true. I would expect similar results from Windows 8 since the GPOs governing this feature haven't changed yet.<br />I know that after 5 years my organization still uses this script/hack and we are supporting Windows 7 as well.Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-23977025723999819452012-12-11T10:22:27.651-05:002012-12-11T10:22:27.651-05:00Hi Brian, Sorry for the incredible delay in respon...Hi Brian, Sorry for the incredible delay in responding - I haven't blogged in ages.<br />You have found the exact problem with the feature. Any admin would not naturally want that GPO feature turned on. But then files don't get hoovered off of the workstations either. The OS treats a change from no redirection to redirection as a "move" as well. The GPO really needs two check boxes. One for server moves and one for workstation to server "moves"<br />Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-65465170668188115902012-12-11T04:26:05.722-05:002012-12-11T04:26:05.722-05:00This is still the best article around that I retur...This is still the best article around that I return to whenever I need to perform a fileserver move.<br /><br />Have you figured out the differences for Windows 8 yet? :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-11744307901251612692012-08-05T10:30:08.902-04:002012-08-05T10:30:08.902-04:00Hello.
Your post is very clear and understandable...Hello.<br /><br />Your post is very clear and understandable. very helpful for my work.<br /><br />Well done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-9888705233195509642012-07-10T22:15:54.637-04:002012-07-10T22:15:54.637-04:00"I think we can agree that this is the way an..."I think we can agree that this is the way an administrator would choose to work. Unfortunately, if you do it this way, Folder Redirection makes some incredibly horrible decisions when that move setting is set."<br /><br />So would there be any issue if you just set Group Policy not to move them? Then an admin could move the files as you explain he would want to. Would the sync work for existing files that hadn't yet been sync'd to the old server? Would the offline file cache still think it had files from the old server or would they now be associated with the new server?Brian Klishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06310797060807307140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-19949454457585603442012-02-15T13:25:46.977-05:002012-02-15T13:25:46.977-05:00Thanks, glad I could help rpseek. Nice to know th...Thanks, glad I could help rpseek. Nice to know the blog is still helping people out there. <br /><br />I was quite sure that all of this still applies to Windows 7 since the basic architecture hasn't changed, but since I have moved on to other responsibilities I have been unable to test.<br /><br />Good luck with everything!Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-60104300873920610502012-02-15T11:35:13.588-05:002012-02-15T11:35:13.588-05:00I really appreciate your posting this. The issue ...I really appreciate your posting this. The issue continues in Windows 7, and so does your fix! This fix really made a much smoother transition from one server to another in our mixed XP/7 environment. Parts of the script worked for XP, but since it tended to update right away, I didn't have nearly the complexity as 7.<br />Thanks again!rpscripterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01951334759122438843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-18020177083940837182010-06-17T03:39:36.756-04:002010-06-17T03:39:36.756-04:00Thanks for the clarification. In your comment, it&...Thanks for the clarification. In your comment, it's 1) that we're implementing. We're moving away from \\SERVERNAME to using DFS. So I guess we simply have to make sure that we run your script at login to make sure the registry is changed to the DFS-path instead of SERVERNAME-path?<br /><br />We're still at Vista so sorry, can't say if this has changed in Win7.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11807556895545854184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-82535626495235373552010-06-17T01:16:54.902-04:002010-06-17T01:16:54.902-04:00Hi Jonas,
I'm pleased you were able to follow...Hi Jonas,<br /><br />I'm pleased you were able to follow that long article. Regarding DFS, you don't quite get what I was saying...<br /><br />Your scenario of moving from SRVOLD to SRVNEW would never be a problem because DFS adds a layer of abstraction so Folder Redirection never sees the physical location, but instead the published DFS name (the DFS name shouldn't have changed).<br /><br />Problems are experienced when the published DFS name changes. In the old days physical UNC paths changed whenever data was moved to new servers. Now DFS names are changed whenever there are organizational changes or a change in approach to DFS naming conventions. In the end any name is always changed for one reason or another.<br /><br />The two DFS scenarios I discussed in my article are this:<br /><br />1) You introduce DFS for the first time. The data remains in the same physical location, but now you change the target UNC path from the physical path to the new DFS name. Folder Redirection will think this is a change of location (since it will see different paths), but the data does not need to be moved since in reality it is still the same physical folder. This is when Folder Redirection will ignore the new location and resort to using the Offline Files cache stored locally.<br /><br />2) Inevitably you will change the published DFS name one day. Folder Redirection will see the new UNC path as another situation where data will be moved. It will fail in the same way it does for data moves when DFS isn't involved because the old location shouldn't be available any longer. However, if scenario 1 had already happened and previously shifted to offline mode, Windows is now completely confused.<br /><br />-- I hope this helped clarify things a bit.<br /><br />I assume you are trying to apply all of this to Windows 7? I haven't worked with that OS yet. Is all of this information still appropriate to Windows 7? I'd love to know.Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-80786335334854378732010-06-16T04:21:13.743-04:002010-06-16T04:21:13.743-04:00This is en excellent article!! But I'm unsure ...This is en excellent article!! But I'm unsure about what you write regarding DFS. We have Folder Redirection to \\ad.local\dfs\Users\username\Documents. This is physically \\SRVOLD\Users$\username.<br /><br />Are you saying that if we would move the data to \\SRVNEW\Users$\username and then change the DFS link to point to the new share, we'll have a problem?<br /><br />For the user and his computer, the link for the users HOMEPATH and HOMEDIR would be exactly the same since we're using DFS.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11807556895545854184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-51647771381969646422008-05-30T00:35:00.000-04:002008-05-30T00:35:00.000-04:00Yep, I'm sure it's coming from the default user pr...Yep, I'm sure it's coming from the default user profile you've put up on the domain controller. At least you will find plenty of clear and accurate MS documentation to guide you through the process of making a new one - it's not a big deal.<BR/><BR/>I'll forgive you for not putting complete trust in me this time - how were you to know I speak the truth ;-)Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-37061696574610739012008-05-29T09:17:00.000-04:002008-05-29T09:17:00.000-04:00heh, I found that interesting as well. I'm creati...heh, I found that interesting as well. I'm creating new accounts, I'm not copying any accounts, and it leads me to believe it must have something to do with the default user, but I have no idea where to look. It's windows XP btw.<BR/> Best I can figure, 'bob' was the account I created, then copied as the default user account some time ago, and somehow that hosed it up. I think I'll have to come up with a way to re-create a fresh default user account. Ugh.<BR/> I pussed out and didn't use the registry hack when I began this, I did it the microsloth way and waited for all users to log in and out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-83974821717632931862008-05-28T16:19:00.000-04:002008-05-28T16:19:00.000-04:00Fun!I found this line interesting:"The folder is c...Fun!<BR/><BR/>I found this line interesting:<BR/>"The folder is configured to be redirected from <\\OLDserver\share\bob\desktop> to <\\newserver\share\tracy\desktop>."<BR/><BR/>As you know, the redirection GPO only specifies the target - not the source. If this is indeed a new user with a new profile, the old location should be the default location of "C:\Users\Tracy...".<BR/><BR/>Vista has to be getting told about Bob's folder somehow in the user's registry in the user's profile. Are you doing a registry hack as per my suggestion but pushing the wrong value at the wrong time? Are there registry entries in the default user profile that get copied over when a new profile is created?<BR/><BR/>Since Vista thinks it is unable to migrate from an old location to a new location, it should continue using the "old location" and you should see the value in the registry. If you were to manually replace that value with the desired one, the problem should go away (for that instance anyway - it might come back when the person logs into another machine and gets a new profile there).<BR/><BR/>I hope this helps - let us know what happens!Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-50817419045144594922008-05-28T14:38:00.000-04:002008-05-28T14:38:00.000-04:00Quick update. 'tracy' is indeed creating a \\news...Quick update. 'tracy' is indeed creating a \\newserver\share\tracy folder like the policy wants. What the error is referring to is that she doesn't have access to the \\OLDserver\share\bob\desktop folder BECAUSE (per event logs) "failed to perform redirection of the folder desktop. The folder is configured to be redirected from <\\OLDserver\share\bob\desktop> to <\\newserver\share\tracy\desktop>. The following error occured: the directory name is invalid.<BR/><BR/>SO, it's trying to move the desktop from the old server to the new server. But with this being a brand new user, I don't know why it's trying to do this instead of simply creating the new users desktop.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-79930341284951824282008-05-28T13:10:00.000-04:002008-05-28T13:10:00.000-04:00Well, I went the old fashoned route on this and ha...Well, I went the old fashoned route on this and had users log in and out...4 months later things were looking ok. Recently I've noticed a new pain in my temples and I can't wrap my head around it.<BR/><BR/>When I create a new user named, tracy, the GPO for folder redirect points them to \\newserver\share\tracy. BUT when the user logs in for the first time I get an error message stating: "\\OLDserver\share\BOB\desktop refers to a location that is unavailable. blah blah blah"<BR/><BR/>No matter what I name the new user, they all try to use "BOB"'s desktop.<BR/><BR/>The only way I have found to stop the error is to delete \\OLDserver\share\bob. then when tracy or tim log in, they create \\OLDserver\share\BOB again and they are listed as the owner. I'm truely lost on this one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-63988204608064942482008-04-08T21:00:00.000-04:002008-04-08T21:00:00.000-04:00I didn't understand Microsoft's logic on that one ...I didn't understand Microsoft's logic on that one either.<BR/><BR/>It doesn't really matter where you put the script. It just has to run before the user logs out and has to be able to edit the user's own registry settings. Typically you would call it from an existing logon script. But you could also use a GPO to launch it or even the Startup Folder. It really is quite a straight forward little trick.Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-16736328041540515762008-04-08T20:22:00.000-04:002008-04-08T20:22:00.000-04:00Heh, right after I posted here, I saw what I wrote...Heh, right after I posted here, I saw what I wrote, and realized "I removed the old share"...crap lol. Without the old share in place, the system couldn't do it's job and move the files, because I moved them already. So I did a few more test users and did it the microsoft way. It worked, but ugh, what a PITA!<BR/> Of my users, 1/3 are infrequent and this path would take an eternity unless I log in/out as them, and that opens up privacy issues.<BR/> So, I'll give the script a shot here, where do I run/put it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-69225430025135900292008-04-08T15:33:00.000-04:002008-04-08T15:33:00.000-04:00Hi Rob,Yes, XP has its share of Folder Redirection...Hi Rob,<BR/><BR/>Yes, XP has its share of Folder Redirection problems as well. In the XP days we did without the Folder Redirection GPOs entirely and just used the registry trick to make things happen. That wasn't possible this time around because the Desktop and Start Menu are now redirected under Vista.<BR/><BR/>This script will work under XP just fine. There are of course extra redirected folders not used by XP, but they would just be ignored by the OS if you don't take them out. The Documents folder hasn't changed in the registry - it's still called "Personal" so that will all still work. You also have to make sure that your Home Folder Path is pointing to the correct location (same as in Vista).<BR/><BR/>Just call the script from your logon script and change the GPOs back to your old locations. Once you are sure everyone has had a chance to logon at least once, set the GPOs back to the new location.<BR/><BR/>If you have no one to script for you, I do consult.<BR/><BR/>Let us know how it goes!Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-60848454271403965742008-04-08T14:59:00.000-04:002008-04-08T14:59:00.000-04:00I'm experiencing this very thing right now in my a...I'm experiencing this very thing right now in my area with ~300 XP users. Our old fldredir server space is being decommissioned and a new one is ready to roll. I backed up the users redirected data, restored it to the new location, set share and verified ntfs permissions, changed the GPO to point to the new location, removed the share on the old server, and a couple test users I created had trouble with the move. When I logged in as them, I got an error stating that they no longer had access to \\oldserver\fldredir\userjoe\desktop. Even though I set up permissions on the new server correctly, it was still looking for the old server in the users profile. Reading up on this, microsoft seems to want me to remove the policy, have every user log in and out, (this will return their data to their roaming profiles because I have that set in the GPO) then reinstate the policy with the new location identified. 300 users? 110 of which haven't logged in in over 30 days? There had to be a better way to get this done. I'm not a script guy. Will this script accomplish what I need to do in an XP world?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-1717031074940780512008-03-11T10:01:00.000-04:002008-03-11T10:01:00.000-04:00Hi Elric,Yep, AppData\Roaming would be one of thos...Hi Elric,<BR/><BR/>Yep, AppData\Roaming would be one of those new folders. <BR/><BR/>You probably did this so I mention it for others... If you want to stop redirecting to the network, don't simply remove the GPO setting, rather specify that the redirection target should be "Redirect to local user profile path". This will hopefully force the folder back to the local location rather than relying on Vista to do the right thing on its own accord.Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-23634568309357076332008-03-11T06:51:00.000-04:002008-03-11T06:51:00.000-04:00Hello,The worst case was AppData/Roaming.Hello,<BR/><BR/>The worst case was AppData/Roaming.Elrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13201693613288622043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-75903981094158672482008-03-04T20:45:00.000-05:002008-03-04T20:45:00.000-05:00Hi Elric,That's a clever solution. I'm sure other...Hi Elric,<BR/><BR/>That's a clever solution. I'm sure others will find it handy to temporarily abandon Folder Redirection as well. Not everyone is comfortable with scripts or with registry modifications.<BR/><BR/>Do you remember which folders would sometimes continue to redirect? I have memories of seeing different behaviors from the folders that were traditionally redirected in XP versus those that are new to Vista.Gordon Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329071837400811838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834310151416822262.post-84894703990391853172008-03-04T07:39:00.000-05:002008-03-04T07:39:00.000-05:00Hello,In the beguining we were using redirected fo...Hello,<BR/>In the beguining we were using redirected folders coupled with offline files for all profile related elements.<BR/>After a lot of issues related to the offline files and some poor network performances we decided to go back the way profile were handled in XP.<BR/>To do that we added a domain policy where all profile elements are stored back in the local roaming profile, and that profile data is moved automatically by the system.<BR/><BR/>We applyed the policy to a specific OU and moved the the users we wanted to convert into it.<BR/><BR/>Thanks to the ability of vista to move the files by itelf we where able to convert profiles quite fast.<BR/><BR/>Once the operation is done we clear all the offline cache through a registry key.<BR/><BR/>It is quite efficient, with gpupdate and two login/logout you are finished.<BR/><BR/>The thing is that the "Magic" move worked partially on some profile, where one directory (not always the same) is still redirected on the network.<BR/><BR/>The best thing is it still redirected after going back and forward between old and new policies.<BR/><BR/>Concerning gpmc we did the SP1mistake, and we had to reinstall the computer use to manage policies ...Elrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13201693613288622043noreply@blogger.com