Group Policy (My Documents Redirect)
Hello all, i am not sure if there is a solution but i thought i would ask this question. prior to our os upggrade (from 2003 to 2008) we had a my documents redirect policy that redirected to a shared folder on a server like this (\\server1\docs\%USERNAME%). our windows 7 machines werent getting redirected so we deleted the old policy and recreated it but now with windows 2008 the format is like this \\server1\docs\%USERNAME%\My Documents). so essentially if some users log on to their machines and the policies get re-applied their documents folder would be empty because on the server side their files would be located one level up. is there a solution that works where windows 7 can be redirected using the old method and not go one folder level deeper. not sure if that made sense
March 16th, 2011 5:25pm

Please have a look to this Microsoft article named "Group Policy Recommendations for Folder Redirection".


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March 16th, 2011 5:30pm

Hi,

 

For the path like \\server1\docs\%USERNAME%\My Documents, it can occur if you choose “Create a folder for each user under the root path” when configuring folder redirection policy. This option creates a folder in the form \\server\share\User Account Name\Folder Name. Each user has a unique path for their redirected folder.

 

As an alternative, you can choose “Redirect to the following location”, set the path as \\server\share\%username%. Meanwhile, this can cause multiple users to share the same path for the redirected folder.

 

For more information, please refer to this article: Folder Redirection Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732275.aspx   

 

I also noticed you said that “we deleted the old policy and recreated”, how did you do that? Is there any problems after removing the policy?

 

Please understand that after a Folder Redirection GPO is applied to a user profile, those Group Policy settings are retained locally on the user's computer. Group Policy settings are changed only when a new or modified GPO is applied to the user or computer. Also, all users who are affected by your GPO modification must log off and back on to any computers where they have logged on before the changes are applied.

 

Please refer to the following link for more information:

 

How to stop Folder Redirection in Windows Server 2003 and in Windows 2000 Server

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888203      

 

If the issue persists after making the changes as you want, please help gather the following files on the problematic Windows 7 client for research.

 

Folder Redirection log

=============

a. Click "Start"->"Run", type "eventvwr" (without quote), press Enter.

b. In "Event Viewer" console, in the left panel, locate to: Applications and Services Logs\Microsoft\Windows\Folder Redirection

c. Right-click "Operational", please ensure "Disable Log" shows.

NOTE: it indicates that the event log is enabled now.

d. Right-click "Operational", click "Save all Events As" to save it as (*.evtx) file.

e. Please send the file to me.

 

The gpreport.html file

==============

Please logon to the problematic computer and run the following command:

 

Gpresult /H gpreport.html

 

Please send the resulting gpresult.html to us.

 

Upload these file to the following workspace.

------------------------------------------------------------

You can upload the information files to the following link. (Please choose "Send Files to Microsoft")

 

Workspace URL: (https://sftus.one.microsoft.com/choosetransfer.aspx?key=f4680281-cf0e-422a-a9e6-4ff8ab4d6d1b)        

Password: o4X2Lkj]VmhR%1G3

 

Note: Due to differences in text formatting with various email clients, the workspace link above may appear to be broken.  Please be sure to include all text between '(' and ')' when typing or copying the workspace link into your browser. Meanwhile, please note that files uploaded for more than 72 hours will be deleted automatically. Please ensure to notify me timely after you have uploaded the files. Thank you for your understanding.

 

Best Regards,

 

Nina Liu

TechNet Subscriber Support in forum

If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com.  

March 17th, 2011 9:52am

Hi,

 

I would like to confirm the current situation. If there is anything that I can do for you, please do not hesitate to let me know, I will be happy to help.

 

Regards,

Nina

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March 21st, 2011 2:19am

i am sorry that i didnt not reply in a timely manner but nina your suggestions help apparently i wasnt reading some of the options properly and the solution was there infront of me all along :) .

"As an alternative, you can choose “Redirect to the following location”, set the path as \\server\share\%username%. Meanwhile, this can cause multiple users to share the same path for the redirected folder. "

i used this option and all is well now... thank you for your help


March 23rd, 2011 3:37pm

Hi,

 

I am glad to hear that the problem has been resolved. Thanks for your feedback.

 

Best Regards,

Nina

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
March 24th, 2011 8:59am

Hi Nina,

The alternative option you have provided did help me to resolve the issue for me. thanks.

But have few questions on how& when to use this alternative option.

question on the difference between the Target folder options "Redirect to the following Location" and "Create a folder for each user under the root path".

1. From your response,

"As an alternative, you can choose Redirect to the following location, set the path as \\server\share\%username%. Meanwhile, this can cause multiple users to share the same path for the redirected folder. "

This option automatically gets replaced with "Create a folder for each user under root path" and path as "\\server\share" when i apply the changes [my AD server is 2008 R2].

I'm not seeing the use of "Redirect to the following Location" option here. option "create a folder for each user under the root path" option already does the same. And the option "Redirect to the following Location" looks redundant to me. 

2. i was having impression that if target folder location set as "Redirect to the following location" - multiple users will be using same share path & with this users will have the same desktop or start menu. i tried setting path to "\\server\share" with target folder option "Redirect to the following location" but it is not working more than one user. Any attempt to  use the same path for other user failed in Folder redirection.

Any pointers on the difference between these two options like how & when to use them will be really appreciated.

Regards,

Moorthy M

April 3rd, 2015 7:20pm

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