Offline Files Cannot Synchronize Access Is Denied Windows 10

User Case: Offline Files Cannot Synchronize Access Is Denied Windows 10

“I've come across a weird issue that surfaced when I was off last week, which was misdiagnosed at the time, but I can't quite find the root cause of it.

We have folder redirection for most user profiles, and use offline files so people can access those files even if they are disconnected from the network (e.g. if there's a connectivity problem, or they are elsewhere).

Since Friday morning, users have experienced issues with their offline files. They can create files, and save back to the file server (The file server is on Server 2016) if they are connected. But they cannot open the file they have created or any existing files when offline.

If I disable offline files, the access denied issue disappears. The issue reappears when I re-enable offline files.

I have tried re-initializing the offline files cache, to no effect. The same if I delete a user profile and get it to repopulate. Any ideas?”

How to Fix Offline Files Access Is Denied Error

For offline files access is denied error, there are some possible reasons, such as, lack of permission, file encryption, etc. Don’t worry about it and fix it with given solutions in the following.

• Method 1: Windows Folder Redirection Access Denied
• Method 2: Offline Files Encryption Access Denied
• Method 3: Reset Offline Files Cache in Windows 10

Method 1: Windows Folder Redirection Access Denied

The access denied error may occur if you put the user’s subfolder under a root shared folder and use \\server_name\root_folder\user_name as mapped drive path.

To fix this error, you should grant all users read permission at least on the root folder, and then you can sync files between server computer and local computer, Because the offline folder will check the user’s permission on the root share when you establish file synchronization.

Method 2: Offline Files Encryption Access Denied

File encryption can be another reason why you receive “offline files Windows 10 cannot synchronize access is denied”. And the offline files encryption may be automatically enabled after you select a network type, ie, public, home, office when connecting to a new network.

To disable offline files encryption, double-click the Sync Center icon on the taskbar, then pitch on the “Manage offline files” option and hit “Unencrypt” under the “Encryption” tab.

Method 3: Reset Offline Files Cache in Windows 10

No matter what the reason, resetting offline files caches can be the last resort to fix offline files access is denied error.

To make it, go to the following registry key, create FormatDatabase DWORD (32-bit) Value and set its value to 1, then restart your computer. After that, all offline database cache will be cleared.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Csc\Parameters

Sync Offline Files in Windows 10 with Sync Center

Supposing you have already enabled offline files and make files always available offline, here I only talk about how to sync files.

Open “Sync Center” and click “View sync partnerships”, then select the Offline Files folder and click “Sync” to start file synchronization. If you want to schedule sync offline files, click “Schedule” and follow the on-screen instructions to set it up.

Note: If you have problems syncing offline files, you can try Method 4 or Method 5 in the offline files sync pending to force offline files to sync using command line. But if it is not working, deleting offline files in Sync Center and syncing network files with an easier way is also a good choice.

To delete offline files, try the following steps. 

• Select Manage offline files in the Sync Center and then scroll down to View your offline files.
• Then, locate all the offline folders and files on the network drive and select Delete Offline Copy. And you can use Copy option to recover offline files caches in Windows 10.

•  Afterward, disable offline files in the Sync Center.

Easier Way to Sync Network Files to Local Drive in Windows 10

It is actually a waste of time to find a working solution every time when you encounter “offline files Windows 10 cannot synchronize access is denied” error or other problems, such as offline files sync pending, offline files not syncing automatically, enable offline files greyed out, etc.

And the core of offline file sync is to sync network files to local drive, so you can access them on your computer at any time you want. In view of this, you can choose a sync software support network path to achieve the same effect. AOMEI Backupper Standard is a great option. Below are some advantages of it:

Sync network files to local drive automatically: Since AOMEI Backupper supports using network paths, so you can sync network files to local drive daily, weekly, or monthly with the help of its Schedule Sync feature.

Sync deletions. By default, the Basic Sync (one-way file sync) does not sync deletions from the source directory. But you can choose to sync it in Options.  

Flexible sync destinations and Windows systems. You can sync network files to local drive as well as external hard drive, NAS, cloud drive, another computer (to sync files between two computers), etc. And it applies to Windows7/8/8.1/10/11/XP/Vista.

Then, let’s have a closer look at how to sync network files locally. Please download and install AOMEI Backupper Standard on the local computer. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server!

Step 1. Launch this software, click “Sync” and “Basic Sync” to start the network file sync.

Step 2. Click “+ Add Folder” and then "Share/NAS" in the pop-up window.

Note: Only the shared folder can be accessed on a different computer, so please share it before syncing network files.

Step 3. Click "Add Share or NAS Device" and input the network path (IP address of server computer), then select the network shared folder need syncing. Afterward, select a local folder to store these files. 

Tips:
✔ Optionally, you can click Filter settings (supported by the professional version) to set file extension inclusion and exclusion, thereby you don't need to sync all files, saving time and space.
✔ You can sync local folder to OneDrive to create another copy in Windows 10. By default, OneDrive is installed on Windows 10 and 11. And it can avoid data loss due to computer failure.

Step 3 (optional). Click “Schedule Sync” > "Enable Schedule Sync" and then “OK” to enable daily sync. Also, you can change it to weekly or monthly. At last, click “Start Sync” and wait until the task is completed 100%.

Notes:
✔ By default, this sync feature will not automatically sync the deleted files in the source folder. But you can enable it by ticking "Sync the deletions in the source directory to destination" in the "Option" settings. 
✔  The most frequent sync method is hourly in Schedule Sync. To sync files faster, try “Real-time Sync” on the AOMEI Backupper Professional. 
✔ The core of Basic Sync is one-way file sync, so only changes in the source folder can be synced. To sync files and changes on both sides, try "Two-Way Sync" instead. Please upgrade to professional version before using it. 
✘ Don’t modify the source folder name of the schedule sync task, otherwise, the program cannot synchronize the selected folder anymore.

★ Bonus tip: backup important files to AOMEI Cloud

As cloud storage is becoming more and more popular, AOMEI offers users its own cloud - AOMEI Cloud. After you sign up for an AOMEI account, you can use 1TB storage for free within 15 days. Just click Backup > Cloud Backup to backup files to AOMEI Cloud.

Written in The End

It's advisable to try the above 3 methods to fix the “Offline files Windows 10 cannot synchronize access is denied” error and then you can sync offline files again. Besides, you still can use an easy way to sync network drive to local drive. You need the help of free file sync software like AOMEI Backupper Standard.

With it, you can sync network files to any storage as long as it can be detected by Windows, such as external drive, network drive, NAS, Microsoft OneDrive, etc. And you can set the sync frequency for it, such as, daily, weekly, monthly or real-time by upgrading to higher version. Considering data security, Mirror Sync is the best choice.