How to change CSC folder location in Vista?
How can I change the location of the CSC (Client Side Cache) folder in Vista (RC2)? For Win 2k and XP I could use the cachemov.exe tool, but in Vista it reports error with CSCDLL.dll (Ordinal 51 not found).
I have a large amount of offline files (over 10 gigs) and I wouldn't like to keep them in the SYSTEMROOT\CSC folder.
Thanks,
Attila
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In the meantime I found a workaround that does the job:
I created a symbolic link from the C:\Windows\CSC folder to my E:\cscvista\ folder. This works properly, the cached files are now physically stored on my E:\ volume. On the other hand, this was a pretty difficult task as the C:\windows\CSC has no owner, no permissions to the Administrators, etc.
Isn't there a more sophisticated way to move the cache file location?
Thanks,
Attila
P.S. This symbolic link is a great feature, it should have been part of Windows since a long time!
I trust that it must have been difficult. Woudl you mind elaborating how you managed to create that symbolic link?
Thanks
Well, the steps were the following:
- Disable offline files
- Reboot Vista in safe mode command prompt only
- Delete the CSC folder in the systemroot (usually C:\windows)
- Create a symbolic directory link pointing to another location (e.g. mklink -d c:\windows\CSC d:\csc )
- Reboot
- Enable offline files
Now, I don't remember all the details but I think I had to change the ownership of the CSC folder from 'no owner' to administrator and had to add all the security rights to be able to delete it...
There must be a nicer method to do this...
Attila
- Thanks Attila. I did exactly as you suggested and it worked fine.
- Thanks! At the moment you are the only one on the web to talk about this! Looked everywhere for a easier way. (handy for my laptop and external hard drive!)
Of course I haven't tried it yet....kudos even if it doesnt work
Wally Thanks for the info and great use of the mklink command. I tried it and it works great. The only thing was that the -d switch should be /d--at least that's what I had to use on my Vista Ultimate system. Also, I booted up with BartPE and deleted the C:\Windows\CSC folder so I didn't have to mess with changing the security on it. This will work fine unless you're using BitLocker or some other encryption.
Here are some alternative instructions for moving the CSC, but it has like 20 steps, so I didn't bother to try it: http://www.msblog.org/index.php/2006/12/29/moving-the-offline-files-cache-in-windows-vista/.
- Hi,
Thanks for the valuable tip. I was trying to follow the procedure; however, even after starting Vista in safe mode, it won't let me access c:\windows\csc. I get an "access denied" even when just aking to "cd csc", just as I get in a command line window in regular mode.
The way I accessed safe mode is to hit F8 when Vista came up and picked "safe mode with command prompt", however, it still loads most of Vista and requires me to log in so I assume that there might be another way to get to do a safe mode?
Any hints how to delete \csc?
Thanks!
Ben You might want to try http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937475
Note There is only one cache folder in Windows Vista. Therefore, you do not have to repeat these steps for additional users.
1.
Click Start, type regedit in the Search box, and then press ENTER.
2.
Locate the following registry subkey, and then and right-click it:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC
3.
Point to New, and then click String Value.
4.
Type Parameters in the name box for the new key.
5.
Right-click the Parameters key, point to New, and then click String Value.
6.
To name the new value, type CacheLocation, and then press ENTER.
7.
Right-click CacheLocation, and then click Modify.
8.
In the Value data box, type the name of the new folder in which you want to create the cache.
Note Use the Microsoft Windows NT format for the folder name.
For example, if you want the cache location to be d:\csc, type the following:\??\d:\csc
9.
Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.
I was able to use this to change the location from c:\windows to c:\CSC
I am doing this because I use an online backup service that will not allow me to backup either (1) system files or (2) network shares. So I have set up my critical files on the network share to be available offline. The backup software won't let me select the windows folder, so by moving the offline file location I can now select the CSC folder for internet backup.
The issue I am having is one of folder ownership. It seems that all new folders created within CSC are owned by the system and then I need to manually go in and take ownership of the folder. This is really not scabable as I will need to constantly be doing this. Any ideas on how I can override the ownership on all new folders?
Thanks
