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NaOH
Asked: 2014-07-31 10:53:53 +0800 CST

Some users unable to see files that others can see

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I have a file server running on Windows Server 2008 R2 in our domain that houses files created by an application and then moved to a folder available as a share to some users here.

Users who use this share will receive an email when new files have been moved to this folder (by the application that moves them). Some users are reporting that when they browse to that folder that either it is empty or that there are no new files. I can go and look and see the new files but on their system even after a reboot they do not appear. It is only affecting a few users, all running Windows 7 Professional.

Initially I thought it might be some sort of caching or offline files problem but I've verified that offline files is disabled on these users' PCs. Permissions are also good and these users are local admins on their PCs.

Can anyone suggest why else this might be happening?

EDIT: A screenshot showing my system on the left and a user's system on the right, showing the discrepancy.

enter image description here http://imgur.com/E7Elsh6

windows

3 Answers

  1. Even if it's not Accessed Based Enumeration, the files could be invisible to users that don't have permission to access them. The word "moved" in your first sentence jumped out at me. I'm assuming that the application which creates the files is running either as domain administrator, or a service account. Whatever files are created by that process will have limited permissions. A moved file will retain it's ACL's. However, if you copy the file, the copy is considered a new entity, and will take on the permissions of the parent folder where it is created.

    First, check the permissions of the files in question to verify what they are. Try logging onto one of the user's PC's as domain administrator and see if you can see the file that way. Ultimately, I'm guessing you'll want to modify your process so that it copies the files rather than moving them. You can then delete the source files if you don't need them anymore.

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  2. This sounds like you might have offline files enabled and the clients are viewing the folder's local offline cache. I would test this by turning offline files off, rebooting (required), and then looking at the folders again. If that is the cause, roll it out via GPO.

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  3. I had the same issue with a computer. User could only see the files If he browsed to the share using the FQDN. I fixed the problem by disabling IPv6 under the network settings on that computer - answer found here: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/334559-user-can-t-see-files-on-network-share

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