Fixing Folder Redirection policy settings problems

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

This topic discusses troubleshooting for Folder Redirection issues.

Folder Redirection CSE Background

The Folder Redirection client side extension, fdeploy.dll, processes Group Policy settings for Folder Redirection. Folder Redirection also includes the following components:

  • {25537BA6-77A8-11D2-9B6C-0000F8080861}.ini: A locally cached redirection information file specific to each user profile.

  • {1C08E84D-F112-4252-978B-EC82A225CC20}.ini: A file indicating the status of the previous locations used for redirected folders. This file is used to detect server location changes and user name changes.

Folder Redirection is used to maintain user data in a centralized location. This permits regular backups of the information, and also provides the user with access to the data from any computer in the network.

The following folders can be redirected:

  • My Documents

  • Application Data

  • Desktop

  • Start Menu

The Folder Redirection CSE manages folder Redirection. When events from this CSE are listed on the Policy Events tab in Group Policy Results reports, the source is listed as Folder Redirection.

Fdeploy.dll is loaded during the logon process by the Group Policy engine. The Folder Redirection policies are passed to fdeploy.dll, which then examines the policy settings and redirects user folders based on those settings.

The first step in Folder Redirection is to get a list of all Folder Redirection policies and evaluate them. The policies are handed down to the fdeploy.dll by the Group Policy engine through an API call into fdeploy.dll. The policies come in the form of two linked lists. The first list is a list of added policies. This refers to a list of Folder Redirection policies that are still applicable to the user. The second list is a list of deleted policies that refers to policies that used to be applicable to the user but are no longer applicable. The changes that result from Folder Redirection are then updated with the shell. The client-side cache, also referred to as offline files, is also updated to reflect the files moved by Folder Redirection.

Fixes for specific Folder Redirection policy setting issues

This section provides information for troubleshooting the following Folder Redirection problem: