Very strange PC problem

[CableDude]

Just set up a new PC for a colleague (use the term loosely) earlier this month. Today I get a call about the HD space on the PC. HD is 80 gb now down to 17 gb.

Said user is also consuming 40 GB on my (the institiutions) server via a network drive.

I did some looking around on the PC late today and found that what is on the "network drive" some how found its way to the "My Documents" folder. :eek:


Question is how did this happen? The user is not technical enough to copy all from the Server to the PC.

I did notice that the "my documents" folder on the desktop had the arrow symbols like the offline files folder.

:confused:

Server is 2003 Enterprise sp2 R2
PC is Xp pro sp2.

[The Dude]

User checked the box for "Work Offline"? Just guessing here I don't know much about network drives and how that works.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Any GP which redirects the My Docs folder?
Perhaps they did an "oops" and dragged some content to My Docs by accident.

[CableDude]

User checked the box for "Work Offline"? Just guessing here I don't know much about network drives and how that works.

Not sure. I noticed that in "my computer" on My PC I don't have a shared documents folder. Others do.

:confused:

[CableDude]

Any GP which redirects the My Docs folder?

No sir. :)


Perhaps they did an "oops" and dragged some content to My Docs by accident.

Ah, I don't know. You would think some one would know if they copied 40 GB to there PC. :confused:

I have the same issue on their old PC. I had it unplugged from the network and those files (in my documents, same files on the server) wouldn't show up on the PC, yet they are still taking up space.

:confused:

It's almost like something got synchronized between the Server and PC?

[The Dude]

Not sure. I noticed that in "my computer" on My PC I don't have a shared documents folder. Others do.

:confused:

I believe in XP pro if you turn off simple file sharing that folder doesn't show up in my computer. By default there is one for each user. In XP home I think you are stuck with them unless you use tweakui to nuke them.

[CableDude]

I believe in XP pro if you turn off simple file sharing that folder doesn't show up in my computer. By default there is one for each user. In XP home I think you are stuck with them unless you use tweakui to nuke them.

I'll give that a look.

[CableDude]

Problem solved. :)

[The Dude]

Care to share the solution? :)

[CableDude]

Care to share the solution? :)

Sure. That fact that I was able to look at the PC for more than 60 seconds was a great start.


Somehow, what was on the network drive found its way to "my documents". It was an exact mirror. I would delete a file off the network drive and it would disappear from "my documents"

I did a properties look on "my documents" and the Target folder location was "network drive letter" :\:rolleyes:

I did a "restore default" on the folder and everything went away in "my documents"

or did it?

I still didn't gain any free space back :confused:

I then ran sequoiaview and found a directory called "Windows\CSC" was eating up alot of space.

Had to re-enable offline files to delete those files. Free space returned. :)

[The Dude]

Err, OK :confused:. Actually some of it does make sense to me but not enough of it to make me ever want to be the IT guy. ;) Thanks for posting your solution. :)