OST files being created on the terminal server

Anonymous
2020-11-17T19:28:46.587+00:00

Notes:
Windows 2019 AD network
Office 365 email accounts
Windows 2019 Terminal Server
Folder redirection set on the server for Application Data
\SVR1\Users$\%USERNAME%\Application Data

I set up a new terminal server a few weeks ago and for some reason the users’ OST files are being recreated on that unit. Of course, it ran out of disk space and now I’m trying to resolve the issue.

As a band aide to buy me some time, I created drive D:\Users and then I edited the registry under
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
ProfilesDirectory: (Default setting is: %SystemDrive%\Users )

I changed it to D:\Users and now that has bought me some time to resolve the issue. I have gone through all my settings and they look correct but the OST files continue to be created on the terminal server D: drive.

As a side note, these users have their own PC’s so the when they are in the office and logged into the network, their files and application data are folder redirected because there are a number of them that move from PC to PC.

Any help would be great
Thanks

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2 answers

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  1. JeffYang-MSFT 6,241 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2020-11-19T09:03:53.5+00:00

    Hi anonymous user,

    What's the type of your account? IMAP or Exchange?

    If you are using your email account as Exchange account, before going further, maybe it is necessary to know the difference between Cached Exchange Mode and Online Mode. Cached Exchange Mode gives users a seamless online and offline Outlook experience by caching the user's mailbox(OST) and the Offline Address Book (OAB) locally. And Online Mode works by using information directly from the server. So, if you do not want Outlook desktop client to create any OST files, Online Mode is indeed an available choice. Reference: Comparison of Cached Exchange Mode and Online Mode.

    I noticed that you may have created the registry values in the wrong path. Please check the detailed steps mentioned in this article: Outlook Online mode creates an OST file and modify your settings to see if your issue could be resolved.

    (Note: Since the web site is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. Serious problems can occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before making changes, back up the registry to restore it in case something goes wrong.)

    If you got your settings configured correctly, you should be able to see the "Online with: Microsoft Exchange" status at the bottom of Outlook.
    41052-image.png

    Hope this can be helpful.

    If an Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-18T14:59:52.233+00:00

    Just to add to this, after I set the following cached mode

    https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/1993503-gpo-to-disable-cached-exchange-mode

    I also created a Registry Add
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\outlook\
    Name: NoOST
    Type: REG_DWORD
    Data: 2

    Now, when the users open up Outlook, at the bottom, they see "This folder has not yet been updated"
    I've told them to ignore it but is there another way to either disable that setting so that it doesn't show?