Clearing Offline Files Cache in Vista

There’s a rather arcane process to reset the offline files cache on a Windows XP system. However, the offline files caching engine was reworked in Windows Vista. After a few google searches, I located some useful blog entries that referenced a KB article and described a process involving setting a registry key and rebooting:

“add the FormatDatabase registry entry to the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Csc\Parameters
Then, set the FormatDatabase registry entry to 1.
The restart your computer”

I had to create the Parameters subkey. I created DWORD value and restarted the system without a network connection. Indeed, my local cache of my redirected My Documents folder was gone.

Another link:
http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/archive/2006/12/12/moving-the-offline-files-cache-in-windows-vista.aspx

–Geoff

Geoff
Sr. System Administrator at the University of Vermont

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