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mickantone

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PST is not available for offline use

Using SBS 2003, we have implemented Folder Redirection successfully.  The client did not want to use Exchange, so we converted their mailboxes to a PST file.  However, we still want to "protect" the PST's from loss, so I placed each user's PST in thier MY DOCUMENTS folder so that it would be stored on the server upon logoff at the end of each day.  For 3 of the 5 users, there is not a problem.  For 2 of the users, there is an error message at logoff:  FILES OF THIS TYPE CANNOT BE AVAILABLE OFFLINE.

How do I make this consistent across the client network.  
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johnb6767
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HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetCache
ExcludeExtensions

remove the .pst value from there.....

Or by GPO....

ExcludeExtensions
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/reskit/regentry/92780.mspx?mfr=true
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mickantone

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Looking in that location on the affected PC, I find the following:

Default    REG_SZ (value not set)

Am I missing something?
start>run>cmd

reg query "hklm\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetCache"
Paste the output here please.....

And you are doing this on a machine with Offline Files enabled?
The problem is you cannot sync a pst file via my documents redirection. You could however put them on a shared folder on the server. This is not recommended though because of the overhead associated with pst file access. It could adversely effect your server performance.
Correct, but I am trying to find out why he is getting errors on 2 out of 5.....
This is by design. As for while only 2 are getting errors, that is odd because if all of the computers have My Documents redirection properly enabled and functioning they too should be getting errors when the folder syncs and it sees the .pst file.

I would not recommend trying to A) Sync PSTs as offline files B) Keeping PSTs on the server.

What reason did the client have for not wanting exchange?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/252509
To johnb6767: I currently have access to the server, but the client workstation is in use. I did a START>RUN>REGEDIT, then connected to the Network Registry for the client PC in question.   Can I run the "reg query" from the server as easily?  
to intekra: don't ask "why" regarding this client. SBS2003 with WXPP is a giant leap from the W98 "server" he previously used (and still has connected but not lit).  He didn't want to let go of his POP3 ID from his ISP.

Question: If I go to SBS Server Management page and open the STANDARD MANAGEMENT>SHARES, I see the USERSFOLDERS created by SBS2003. If I go to USERSFOLDERS PROPERTIES, and click on the OFFLINE SETTINGS, the ONLY THE FILES AND PROGRAMS THAT USERS SPECIFY WILL BE AVAILABLE is selected. Should I select one of the other settings; i.e., FILES OR PROGRAMS FROM THE SHARE ARE NOT AVAILABLE OFFLINE.  There was no intent to make this available offline from the getgo.  The intent was to create the PST and have it stored on the server upon logoff, providing protection from loss with the server's redundant drives and the daily backup.  
By default in SBS, when you enable My Documents redirection, it also enables offline files, so if the server goes down or the user leaves the LAN they can still work on those files. When the server comes online or the user reconnects, it will sync.

Just store the .PSTs in a different folder, not My Documents and it will work like you want. Though I can't really recommend it in any case.

And you can still use exchange with the client's POP3; which is a better solution than PSTs on a share...

intekra:
We originally set the exchange server to be used to "store" the mailbox even though we Outlook was accessing the POP3 account. We set the "default" account to their POP3 accounts for send/receive and simply wanted Exchange to store the mail.  What we found was the every time the user opened Outlook, it would change the default account to the user's Exchange account....and all transmissions would fail. In looking for a solution to the constantly resequencing "default" account, searches on EXPERTS indicated that a registry edit would be required.....or create PST's and divorce ourselves from Exchange.  But that is history......

These are desktop clients and will never leave the network.  This is really working fine for three of the users....just not these two.  Is your suggestion to use a personal or shared folder that is NOT a redirected folder?

"There was no intent to make this available offline from the getgo"

Thats good to hear....

Leave them where they are, but supress the messages that they are in error....

Files that you add to the Offline Files folder on a Windows XP-based computer are synchronized when another person uses the computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811660

Notably, the section titled....

"Exclusion error suppression"

Use the reg key to specify the filetypes that cant sync, and it wil not generate errors...... But of course it wont synch them still, and that way you dont need to move them anywhere....
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intekra
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I like the idea of suppressing the error message that johnb6767 put forth. However, keep in mind that when a user accesses a pst from a network share it can spike your disk I/O and cause the server to lock momentarily. If you have many hits at the same time you could see a significant performance hit. We chased this problem for several months at one client and ultimately moved the pst's back to the desktop. We then used a logon script to copy them back to the server each day for backup.
After reviewing the responses and doing a little additional research, here are additional thoughts:
Let's try that again:
Additionial thoughts/questions:
1. Can I simply set the Offline Settings to "Files or programs from the share will not be available offline"?
2. Regarding the last comment from johnb6767, the link refers to a HOT FIX that addes the registry keys for exclusion. Should I be concerned about this HOT FIX?
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