Want to use Offline copies even when on network, is this possible?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Colin Higbie
  • Start date Start date
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Colin Higbie

Most of the files that I use are stored on my desktop computer (also acting
as a file server, with RAID5). I keep an Offline copy on my laptop and take
them with me to do work. Everything works fine. When I'm away from the
network, I have nice speedy access to all my Offline files. Also, if I
connect to the network via 100BaseT Ethernet, while a little slower because
it's using the server files over the Ethernet, access is still reasonable.
However, when I'm connected to the network via Wi-Fi, which is the typical
case (like right now, I'm sitting in bed), the connection is very, very
slow. With occasional exceptions (my wife has a third computer and shares
some of these files), I'm the only one who ever changes these files, so I
don't care about being out of sync with the "real" copy on the server.

Is there a way to make Windows XP use the Offline file version of the files
and folders by default? I could still synchronize every time I bring my
laptop back to the network, but that way I would not be forced to rely on
the super-slow network access.

By the way, I don't want to disable the Wi-Fi network and force the computer
to use the Offline files that way, because I rely on the Wi-Fi connection
for Internet access. I only want to use my local copies of the Offline files
and folders, while otherwise interacting with the network normally.

Thanks for any advice,
Colin
 
Hmm--here's something I haven't tried, and it may be absolutely useless, but
read on:

The Windows Server 2003 resource kit contains a tool "CSCCMD.EXE" to allow
command-line interaction with the client-side cache (i.e. offline files.)

There's an argument cssccmd /disconnect

which appears to do what you'd like, as (obliquely) cited here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822888

And, of course, this article exists because there's a bug, which is fixed in
XP SP2--so you want to be running SP2 to use this method.

And, of couse, you need the resource kit, which fortunately, is downloadable
here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&displaylang=en

This seems to me worth trying, unless Jeffrey Randow (or somebody else!) can
tell us I'm all wet in left field and this absolutely isn't applicable!
 
That sure looks like the right thing! Thanks. I'll try and report back.

- Colin
 
Another option, which I much prefer to Offline Files: www.centered.com . I
think it's a lot better in general - and it's cheap & cheerfu.

</shameless plug>
 
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