On a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, you have some offline files that are ghost items. In this situation, you cannot synchronize the offline files on this computer with the corresponding files on a file server. Additionally, you cannot access or delete these offline files.

Note: Ghosting is a new feature for offline files in Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008. Sometimes, a synchronization process may stop responding because of network issues that occur when the contents of a file or directory are only partly cached. In this case, client-side caching (CSC) creates ghost items on the client computer. Ghost items cannot be deleted. Additionally, the ghosting feature cannot be disabled.

If a program stops responding in Windows Vista, top-level windows that are owned by the program may be replaced by a ghost window until the program resumes. When the program resumes, windows that use the WS_EX_LAYERED extended window style may appear corrupted.