Deleted files reappears in Roaming Profiles

[NO_MSC_NO_MSCP_NO_MSENGINEER]

Hi,


we're using a domain user with adm. permissions in workstations for doing
soft. installations.

Every thing is OK, excepting that we decided to make this users profile a
roaming profile so it contained all the apps. icons, links to very often
used apps, etc...

It is working excepting that when we delete a icon or folder in his desktop
(so, files in his profile) from time to time the files reappears.

This is quite annoying, specially because a helpdesk technician once moved
to the profile a huge directory that from time to time reappears... Anyway,
this is quite annoying!!!!


Is this logical? How can this be solved?

We apply a policy to the workstatiosn so the profile is deleted everytime
the user logs off, but it does nothing... the deleted files remains
somewhere...


Workstations are WIndows xp sp1. Network is Win2000 Active Directory.

Thanks. Greetings from Barcelona.

 

[Stew]

The files you are looking for are not stored in the local profile...

Roaming profiles are copied out to the server where you store the profile...
Lets do a walk-thru...

Lets say I log in for the first time at a workstation (and I have never
logged into the network before)... I will first receive the "Default User"
profile from the local workstation that I log in to (assuming you are not
doing anything elaborate)... So now I have a basic Win2K/WinXP profile...
Now I add a shortcut icon on my desktop for some file I like quick access to
(it is now in "c:\documents and settings\myusername\desktop\myicon")... I
now log off of the local workstation... Windows now copies two very
important pieces of information in order that I can roam in my
environment... First, it copies the actual files and directories under
"C:\Documents and Settings\MyUserName"... Second, it purges important
information from the registry into my NTUSER.DAT file, and copies this out
to my roaming folder as well... This file hosts a multitude of registry
entries that are specific to me... These items are copied to the location
you have specified in my profile path (overwriting any content at that
location) to in AD for my user account...

Once logged out, everything that I need is on the server... When I log in
again... the nework stored profile overwrites any locally stored copy (if it
exists), or copies it in it's entirity it does not exist (say on a new
workstation)... The problems occur when you begin deleting items from a
profile... If I personally delete the icon from my desktop that I placed on
my desktop earlier... I am only deleting the local copy of it... When I log
out, my local profile (with no icon) is copied over my profile that is on
the server (that has the icon) that has not changed since I logged in... The
net result is the profile on the server still has the icon... If I log
out... and then log in again... the icon will come back...

Workstation Server Result
<file.1> => <file.1> <file.1>
<file.2> => <file.2> <file.2>
<file.3> => <file.3> <file.3>

Workstation Server Result
<file.1> => <file.1> <file.1>
<deleted> => <file.2> <file.2>
<file.3> => <file.3> <file.3>

The only way to get rid of the file (shortcut in this case) is to remove it
from both the roaming (server copy) and the local copy ("c:\documents and
settings\myusername")...

HTH,

Stew.

 

[NO_MSC_NO_MSCP_NO_MSENGINEER]

Stew,


Thanks for answering my question.

In fact, as long as I thing I understood the way local and roaming profiles
work, I think I disagree wiht your answer.

Let's imagine that the GPO 'delete roaming profiles locally', that is, when
logging out of the workstations delete the local profile (I have checked it
and it works, it deletes the local copy of the profiles) is ON.

So, when I log into a workstation for the first time with my roaming profile
the default profile is created (it is stored in my case in the Netlogon
directory, shared for all the computers).

Then I modify this profile locally, and logs off. HERE COMES THE POINT:
since the local copy of the profile is deleted, anything of the profile is
copied to the roaming copy of the profile in the server. It doesn't matters
if it was deleted, everything is copied. So there should be no problem with
deleted files, etc...

The problem in my case (I have been thinking at this during the weekend
) is that I have been working with a roaming profile used in 100
workstations without teh 'delete local copy of the roaming profile' policy
enabled.

So , what happend with this profile?

Workstation 1 : I log on and copy a file to the desktop. Logs off. The
profile is copied to the shared folder in the server BUT REMAINS LOCALLY IN
THE WORKSTATION.
Workstation 2: I log on and delete the file in the desktop. Logs off. The
profile doesn't contain the file in the desktop nor in the local copy of the
roamign profile nor in the shared folder.
Workstation1: I Log on again. THE LOCAL PROFILE IS COMPARED TO THE REMOTE
PROFILE. THE FILE IN THE DESKTOP IS MISSING FROM THE REMOTE PROFILE AND IT
IS ADDED TO THE ACTUALLY WORKING PROFILE. This is by design: if a file is
newer in the local profile or missing from a shared profile it is loaded
when loading the profile.

So, any file added to the profile in any workstation is keeped until it is
explicitely deleted in THAT workstation, unless the 'delete cached copy ...'
policy is enabled and then no local copy is maintained.


What do you think?

grretings from Barcelona.


So, as you can see, any file that has been added in any workstation to the
profile can appear anytime since when logging into that workstation it will
appear again.