# Multiple synchronization conflicts after deactivation of VirtualFiles

**URL:** <https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390>\
**Category:** 💻 Desktop\
**Tags:** windows\
**Created:** [March 11, 2022, 6:19am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390 "2022-03-11T06:19:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/nnako/32/10213_2.png) [@nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/nnako)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 6:19am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390/1 "2022-03-11T06:19:43Z")

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Hi,

I had to **deactivate** the (defaultly activated) **VirtualFiles** feature on my Windows 10 system NextCloud Client. This was necessary so that I would be able to work without popping-up download windows on my system with enough storage memory.

Unfortunately, files which are updated from other clients within the system (there are several Linux Clients within the system) now cause **synchronisation conflicts** on my Windows system (the one where I deactivated VirtualFiles).

So, on my Windows system, I see the yellow conflict icon within the client, and when I look up the respective folder, I see respective conflict files like this one:

```auto
_status (conflicted copy 2022-03-10 050117).ini

```

After removing the conflict files (which have the same size as the original files) the local client enters normal operation, again.

**How could I clean the system to not always create these conflict files, as, obviously, there are no conflicts.**

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![tflidd](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/tflidd/32/6_22734026db12803ebb3e059622ac3534.png) [@tflidd](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/tflidd)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 8:47am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390/2 "2022-03-12T08:47:02Z")

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> [@nnako](#):
>
> on my Windows 10 system

> [@nnako](#):
>
> (there are several Linux Clients within the system)

Why do you have Linux Clients on your Windows machine?

You don’t sync the same folder with different sync clients? The conflict files originate from local changes done when the file on the server changed as well, then a local conflict file is preserved to not overwrite some other change of the file. If other clients change things of a file (it might be just a quick renaming back and forth, a change in modification date etc.) this might trigger the Nextcloud client about “changes” and consider them as conflicting.

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**Author:** ![nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/nnako/32/10213_2.png) [@nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/nnako)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390/3 "2022-03-12T21:59:20Z")

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Hi @tflidd , thanks for your quick reply.

> [@tflidd](#):
>
> Why do you have Linux Clients on your Windows machine?

Sorry. Wrong wording. On my “main” computer, I use a Windows 10 operating system. Here, I have a NextCloud Client installed to access a remote NextCloud Server (the server is running on a Debian Linux system). In addition to my single Windows-NextCloud-Client, there are several Linux-NextCloud-Clients connected to the same Server instance. On each machine within my overall NextCloud system, there is in every case definitely only **one** local NextCloud client application involved.

> [@tflidd](#):
>
> The conflict files originate from local changes done when the file on the server changed as well, then a local conflict file is preserved to not overwrite some other change of the file. If other clients change things of a file (it might be just a quick renaming back and forth, a change in modification date etc.) this might trigger the Nextcloud client about “changes” and consider them as conflicting.

The file `_status.txt` I mentioned in my first post, is a text file which might get read on the Windows system. But never gets changed, here. It is a file that gets updated every day at 5:00 am by one of the Linux clients. This is done for more than 2 years, now. And it worked perfectly without any synchronisation conflicts…

Until I manually switched my Windows client behavior (back) from VirtualFiles mode to Non-VirtualFiles mode, some days ago. As soon as I switched off the VirtualFiles mode, synchronization issues like the one described are visible on my Windows client system. For those files which were updated on other clients.

So I thought, the switching-off of VirtualFiles might have caused something more. Something which somehow renders my files on the Windows client system as if they have been changed locally. But they haven’t.

Any ideas?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tflidd](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/tflidd/32/6_22734026db12803ebb3e059622ac3534.png) [@tflidd](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/tflidd)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390/4 "2022-03-12T22:50:50Z")

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Recently, there were quite a few changes to the client. However, I’m not at all in on all the details and what might influence it. I’d try to see to get some logfiles, if you can spot any problem and perhaps relate it to some existing github issue. If not, try to create your own.

On the windows client, I’d check if \_\* files are not on the ignored files list. Can you trigger this behavior with other files changed by a different client or via web-interface?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/nnako/32/10213_2.png) [@nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/nnako)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390/5 "2022-03-15T14:15:57Z")

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Hi @tflidd , thanks for the hint. I now created a new issue:

[synchronization conflicts after deactivation of Virtual Files](https://github.com/nextcloud/desktop/issues/4350)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/nnako/32/10213_2.png) [@nnako](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/nnako)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390/6 "2022-03-15T14:09:02Z")

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Hi @tflidd,

thanks for your answer. I opened a new issue:

> <https://github.com/nextcloud/desktop/issues/4350>
>
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> 
> 
> \### a bit of history
> Some day in 2021, my NextCloud Client started to show popup windows about "downloading file ..." whenever I clicked on a locally, newly synchronized file within the file explorer. I was told that this behavior was due to a new feature called "Virtual Files", especially designed for client computers with low storage capacity compared to the NextCloud storage size.
> 
> As I have plenty of local storage space (and just a small NextCloud size) and at the same time wanted to overcome the drawback of \*\*Virtual Files\*\* that file-based backups of NextCloud folders don't really seem to work, I decided to \*\*deactivate\*\* the Virtual Files feature on my Windows computer.
> 
> After doing so, it seemed to me that all the files were finally downloaded and the popup window never showed up again. But, with deactivation of Virtual Files, immediately another problem arouse which I want to describe here.
> 
> 
> \### Expected behaviour
> When I update single files (e.g. \`\_status.ini\`) on one of the other (remote) NextCloud clients, I want these files to be just synchronized with the server and with my Windows client. Showing no conflict files if I haven't touched the file that was updated on the other client.
> 
> \### Actual behaviour
> When I update single files (e.g. \`\_status.ini\`) on one of the other (remote) NextCloud clients, those files seem to cause a conflict on my local Windows client, even though I have not touched them within the Windows system, actively. The behavior is as if I had (parallel to the update on the other client) updated the same file on my local Windows system:
> 
> There appears to be the (correct) file version which came synchronized from the NextCloud server but also a Windows-local conflict file, having the same file size as the synchronized one but an older creation date:
> 
> !\[grafik\](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/5845602/158362600-86f4c6fc-0bcb-4fb8-a096-2457cdf92788.png)
> 
> \### Steps to reproduce
> 1. change a file on a remote client
> 2. wait for the change to be synchronized
> 3. see the conflict file appear on the Windows client (where the Virtual Files were disabled)
> 
> \### Client configuration
> Client version: \*\*3.4.1\*\*
> \<!---
> Please try to only report a bug if it happens with the latest version
> The latest version can be seen by checking https://nextcloud.com/install/#install-clients
> \---\>
> 
> Operating system: \*\*windows-10.0.18363\*\*
> 
> OS language: \*\*German\*\*
> 
> Installation path of client: \*\*C:\\Program Files\\Nextcloud\\nextcloud.exe\*\*
> 
> 
> \### Server configuration
> \<!---
> Optional section. It depends on the issue.
> \---\>
> Nextcloud version: \*\*23.0.2.1\*\*
> 
> Storage backend (external storage): \*\*?\*\*
> 
> \### Logs
> 
> Client logfile:
> 
> https://gist.github.com/nnako/42e98264885f79247473b2844ad034ac
> 
> !\[grafik\](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/5845602/158362986-a6ce06c3-4405-454b-ae34-2021fcf216b2.png)
> 
> Description of the log file:
> 
> \- the logfile was about 90 MB of size, so I just kept the lines where the file names appeared together with ther immediate surroundings
> \- marked in RED are the findings related to a PDF file which was created / updated on a remote client
> \- marked in DARK BLUE are the findings related to a textfile which was updated (it will be updated every day at about 5 am) on another remote client
> \- marked in light green are the findings related to a textfile which was not updated externally but resides within the same folder as the latter changed text file.
> \-

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![wwe](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/wwe/32/72963_2.png) [@wwe](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/wwe)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 8:31pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/multiple-synchronization-conflicts-after-deactivation-of-virtualfiles/135390/7 "2024-12-14T20:31:54Z")

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