Disable Cached Exchange Mode Outlook 2007 ??

[Guest]

In Outlook 2007 (release version), I cannot disable Cached Exchange Mode.
The option to do so is greyed out, always. I can't even disable it when
creating a new profile.

I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool. Choosing
"Do not configure cached exchange mode" or choosing it and unchecking "use
cached exchange mode" does not have any affect. Either way I'm locked into
cached mode.

I also specifically disabled cached exchange mode via GPO: "Do not use
Cached Exchange Mode for all new Outlook profiles" = Enabled. This policy
was configured prior to installing using the above mentioned methods.

I'm seeing this behavior on two test systems running XP. Both systems had
Outlook 2003 installed previously, and configured to not use cached mode.
Even after manually uninstalling Office 2007 after performing the upgrade,
and then reinstalling it fresh, I am still stuck in cached mode.

In my environment cached mode provides zero benefit and simply degrades the
user experience by a significant margin. I won't be deploying 2007 for a
while, but I want to figure out how to turn this off so I can continue my own
personal training and testing.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

"I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool."
Did you specify any mail profile configuration options there? If so then
they are being forced and cannot be overriden. It is better to choose only
one location to set options; either through GPO or through the Custom
Installation.

Leave all the settings in their default state, remove the current mail
profile and uninstall what you have so far. Then do a clean installation
(without any settings) and manually create the mail profile. From this clean
state start configuring GPOs.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Have you verified that the ost-file is actually being created and recreated
after you delete it?
The fact that it is ticked doesn't mean anything when the option itself is
greyed out.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

That didn't work. I removed all of the Outlook customizations from the
install configuration. Uninstalled and re-installed Office 2007.

I still do not have the option to disable cached exchange mode. It is
disabled via GPO, but Outlook is enabling it and the option to turn it off
is
greyed out.

"I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool."
Did you specify any mail profile configuration options there? If so then
they are being forced and cannot be overriden. It is better to choose
only
one location to set options; either through GPO or through the Custom
Installation.

Leave all the settings in their default state, remove the current mail
profile and uninstall what you have so far. Then do a clean installation
(without any settings) and manually create the mail profile. From this
clean
state start configuring GPOs.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

In Outlook 2007 (release version), I cannot disable Cached Exchange
Mode.
The option to do so is greyed out, always. I can't even disable it
when
creating a new profile.

I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool.
Choosing
"Do not configure cached exchange mode" or choosing it and unchecking
"use
cached exchange mode" does not have any affect. Either way I'm locked
into
cached mode.

I also specifically disabled cached exchange mode via GPO: "Do not use
Cached Exchange Mode for all new Outlook profiles" = Enabled. This
policy
was configured prior to installing using the above mentioned methods.

I'm seeing this behavior on two test systems running XP. Both systems
had
Outlook 2003 installed previously, and configured to not use cached
mode.
Even after manually uninstalling Office 2007 after performing the
upgrade,
and then reinstalling it fresh, I am still stuck in cached mode.

In my environment cached mode provides zero benefit and simply degrades
the
user experience by a significant margin. I won't be deploying 2007 for
a
while, but I want to figure out how to turn this off so I can continue
my
own
personal training and testing.

 

[boden.larson]

Can someone verify all of this for me?

I'm not sure if I'm willing to pony up $99 to tell Microsoft about this
problem, but if I do I want to make sure it's a valid find so I can be
refunded.

Ok, more information.

The GPO setting: "Do not use Cached Exchange Mode for all new Outlook
profiles" is slightly broken.

When this is set to enabled, "Cached Mode" is set to 1 in the registry.
When this is set to disabled, "Cached Mode" is set to 0 in the registry.
Thus, it appears to be backwards, and this item should really be "Use Cached
Exchange Mode for all new Outlook profiles." One should also note that this
setting applies to more than just new profiles.

Another interesting tidbit - when I first set this policy item to "disabled"
and refreshed the policy, I first verified on my workstation that Cached Mode
in the registry had indeed flipped over to "0". It had. However, when I
started Outlook it was still in Cached Mode. I pulled up the account
settings, and saw that the Cached Exchange Mode was unchecked, and greyed
out. Strange. I closed Outlook again and restarted it, and voila, it was no
longer in cached mode.

So, for anyone reading who has this problem:

1) Fix the outlk12.adm administrative template as I wrote above.
2) Set "Do not use Cached Exchange Mode" to the *opposite* of what you think
you should set it to.

So far so good. Haven't done a reinstall yet.

Have you verified that the ost-file is actually being created and recreated
after you delete it?
The fact that it is ticked doesn't mean anything when the option itself is
greyed out.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

-----

That didn't work. I removed all of the Outlook customizations from the
install configuration. Uninstalled and re-installed Office 2007.

I still do not have the option to disable cached exchange mode. It is
disabled via GPO, but Outlook is enabling it and the option to turn it off
is
greyed out.

:

"I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool."
Did you specify any mail profile configuration options there? If so then
they are being forced and cannot be overriden. It is better to choose
only
one location to set options; either through GPO or through the Custom
Installation.

Leave all the settings in their default state, remove the current mail
profile and uninstall what you have so far. Then do a clean installation
(without any settings) and manually create the mail profile. From this
clean
state start configuring GPOs.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

-----
In Outlook 2007 (release version), I cannot disable Cached Exchange
Mode.
The option to do so is greyed out, always. I can't even disable it
when
creating a new profile.

I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool.
Choosing
"Do not configure cached exchange mode" or choosing it and unchecking
"use
cached exchange mode" does not have any affect. Either way I'm locked
into
cached mode.

I also specifically disabled cached exchange mode via GPO: "Do not use
Cached Exchange Mode for all new Outlook profiles" = Enabled. This
policy
was configured prior to installing using the above mentioned methods.

I'm seeing this behavior on two test systems running XP. Both systems
had
Outlook 2003 installed previously, and configured to not use cached
mode.
Even after manually uninstalling Office 2007 after performing the
upgrade,
and then reinstalling it fresh, I am still stuck in cached mode.

In my environment cached mode provides zero benefit and simply degrades
the
user experience by a significant margin. I won't be deploying 2007 for
a
while, but I want to figure out how to turn this off so I can continue
my
own
personal training and testing.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I see the same behavior for the GPO setting here. Your workarounds make sense. I've passed the information along to the appropriate folks at Microsoft.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Can someone verify all of this for me?

I'm not sure if I'm willing to pony up $99 to tell Microsoft about this
problem, but if I do I want to make sure it's a valid find so I can be
refunded.

Ok, more information.

The GPO setting: "Do not use Cached Exchange Mode for all new Outlook
profiles" is slightly broken.

When this is set to enabled, "Cached Mode" is set to 1 in the registry.
When this is set to disabled, "Cached Mode" is set to 0 in the registry.
Thus, it appears to be backwards, and this item should really be "Use Cached
Exchange Mode for all new Outlook profiles." One should also note that this
setting applies to more than just new profiles.

Another interesting tidbit - when I first set this policy item to "disabled"
and refreshed the policy, I first verified on my workstation that Cached Mode
in the registry had indeed flipped over to "0". It had. However, when I
started Outlook it was still in Cached Mode. I pulled up the account
settings, and saw that the Cached Exchange Mode was unchecked, and greyed
out. Strange. I closed Outlook again and restarted it, and voila, it was no
longer in cached mode.

So, for anyone reading who has this problem:

1) Fix the outlk12.adm administrative template as I wrote above.
2) Set "Do not use Cached Exchange Mode" to the *opposite* of what you think
you should set it to.

So far so good. Haven't done a reinstall yet.

Have you verified that the ost-file is actually being created and recreated
after you delete it?
The fact that it is ticked doesn't mean anything when the option itself is
greyed out.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

-----
That didn't work. I removed all of the Outlook customizations from the
install configuration. Uninstalled and re-installed Office 2007.

I still do not have the option to disable cached exchange mode. It is
disabled via GPO, but Outlook is enabling it and the option to turn it off
is
greyed out.

:

"I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool."
Did you specify any mail profile configuration options there? If so then
they are being forced and cannot be overriden. It is better to choose
only
one location to set options; either through GPO or through the Custom
Installation.

Leave all the settings in their default state, remove the current mail
profile and uninstall what you have so far. Then do a clean installation
(without any settings) and manually create the mail profile. From this
clean
state start configuring GPOs.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

-----
In Outlook 2007 (release version), I cannot disable Cached Exchange
Mode.
The option to do so is greyed out, always. I can't even disable it
when
creating a new profile.

I created my install image using the Office Customization Tool.
Choosing
"Do not configure cached exchange mode" or choosing it and unchecking
"use
cached exchange mode" does not have any affect. Either way I'm locked
into
cached mode.

I also specifically disabled cached exchange mode via GPO: "Do not use
Cached Exchange Mode for all new Outlook profiles" = Enabled. This
policy
was configured prior to installing using the above mentioned methods.

I'm seeing this behavior on two test systems running XP. Both systems
had
Outlook 2003 installed previously, and configured to not use cached
mode.
Even after manually uninstalling Office 2007 after performing the
upgrade,
and then reinstalling it fresh, I am still stuck in cached mode.

In my environment cached mode provides zero benefit and simply degrades
the
user experience by a significant margin. I won't be deploying 2007 for
a
while, but I want to figure out how to turn this off so I can continue
my
own
personal training and testing.