Redirected folders and roaming profiles issues

[sphtd390]

Hi

At the beginning:
I've been working as an extra in a new company (it's a school) for two weeks, so I don't really know the rules/configuration.

After weeks of working there, users started having problems (it started with one user at first).

Problems:

1. (This problem has existed before) Very long login and logout time.

2. After successful login, the user has a black screen with a white cursor and only the "My computer" context is displayed (as I remember well). Explorer exe helps after restarting from the task manager, but not for long, because when the user starts working on a folder or right-clicks on the desktop or directory, the explorer.exe process hangs, turns off and we return to the starting point.

3. I don't know why, but users have problems with conflicts in the synchronization center and files do not synchronize on some users.

4. Problem with exceeded profile space. "You have exceeded your Profile Storage Space"

Errors:

In the event viewer there is Faulting application name: Explorer.EXE, there is also a fatal error on some endings:

0x3d55 package family microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe

We use redirected folders and redierected profiles (together with AppData).
I really don't like the combination of these two "technologies" and methods. I would like to get away from these technologies, but users must have their files on different computers within the school.

My questions:

1. How to deal with black screen issues?

2. If I suddenly stop redirecting AppData in GPO, will it cause anything? If so, what?

3. Is the long user loading time caused by roaming profiles and their size?

4. What are the alternatives to Roaming profiles & redirected profiles? What could I potentially migrate to? (Users do not work remotely) (we have MS365 a1 licenses)

AD: Windows server 2016

PC: Windows 10/11 and Windows 7 (Interestingly, there are no problems with explorer.exe on Windows 7)

[#2]

Hi @sphtd390,

How to deal with black screen issues?

There are a few things you can try:

• Restart your computer. This may seem obvious, but it can sometimes fix minor problems that are causing the black screen.
• Boot into Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a diagnostic mode that starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and services. If you can boot into Safe Mode without seeing a black screen, it means that the problem is caused by a third-party driver or service. You can then try disabling or uninstalling third-party drivers and services to see if that fixes the problem.
• Update your graphics drivers. Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers can cause a variety of display problems, including black screens. You can download the latest graphics drivers from the manufacturer's website.
• Run System File Checker (SFC). SFC scans your system files for corruption and repairs any problems it finds. To run SFC, open a command prompt as an administrator and type the following command:

sfc /scannow​

• Reset Windows Update components. If Windows Update is not working properly, it can cause a variety of problems, including black screens. To reset Windows Update components, open a command prompt as an administrator and type the following commands:

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Temp Temp.old
net start wuauserv
net start bits
net start msiserver​

If you have tried all of the above and the black screen problem persists, you may need to reinstall Windows.

If I suddenly stop redirecting AppData in GPO, will it cause anything? If so, what?

Yes, if you suddenly stop redirecting AppData in GPO, it will cause users to lose all of their AppData settings and data. This includes things like browser bookmarks, saved games, and application preferences.

If you need to stop redirecting AppData, you should first migrate the users' AppData folders to their local computers. 

Is the long user loading time caused by roaming profiles and their size?

Yes, roaming profiles can cause long user loading times, especially if the profiles are large. This is because Windows has to download the profile from the server every time the user logs in.

There are a few things you try to reduce the size of roaming profiles:

• Move users' personal data to a network share. This will reduce the size of the roaming profiles because Windows will only need to download the user's settings, not their data.
• Use Folder Redirection to redirect specific folders to a network share. For example, you could redirect the Desktop, Documents, and Downloads folders.

What are the alternatives to Roaming profiles & redirected profiles? What could I potentially migrate to? (Users do not work remotely) (we have MS365 a1 licenses)

There are a few alternatives to roaming profiles and redirected profiles:

• User Profiles Direct. User Profiles Direct is a Windows feature that allows you to store user profiles on a network share. When a user logs in, their profile is downloaded from the share and cached on their local computer. This can improve performance and reduce the size of roaming profiles.
• Cloud-based user profile solutions. There are a number of cloud-based user profile solutions available, such as Citrix Profile Management and VMware User Environment Manager. These solutions can provide a number of benefits, such as improved performance, reduced storage costs, and increased security.

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Kindest regards,

Leon Pavesic
(LinkedIn)

[#3]

We have the exact same problem in our environment (also a school)

@LeonPavesic: Sorry, but sphtd390's 1st question has absolutely nothing to do with your suggested solution for it.
As stated they already use folder redirection.
Can't find "User Profiles Direct" mentioned anywhere else, maybe my googling skills aren't up to par. Do you by any chance mean FSLogix?