My open files are empty from MMC Snapin

Question

Hello,
I am having a very strange problem which I am unsure is normal behavoir or an actual issue.
I recently moved my users from one RDS server to another
The main application the users are using is now local instead of going through the network shares, however, the users still have access to the same network shares.
On the old server when I selected MMC and went to open files I was able to see everything that every user had open now on this new server whether I do it from the Hyper-V console or I do it from an RDP session as a domain admin everything is blank. How do I make it such that I can see who has what open?
Also to answer the question that will be asked, yes, there are files open. There are hundreds of DLLs open and PDFs and other files that will be open from the network shares. Mostly, the files that will be open are going to be from the local application that the users are using all day.
It's very important for us to have this information, why does it work on the old server 2012 and not on the new 2019 server?
Thanks!

Answer 1

If the application is running on Server1, and accessing data files on the same server, then nothing is going to show up in Open Files, because they are not going through the network share.

If the application is running on Server1, and accessing data files on \Server2\ShareName, then when you RDP to Server2 and run mmc, you can see the open files from Server1. Files like dll's and PDF's will only be open for a short time as they are read and transferred over the network. Then they are closed and thus don't up in Open Files.

To see what files are open on a "local machine" you can use a utility like Handle or Process Explorer.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/handle

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

You can also use openfiles.exe, but be aware that there is a performance cost. I would suggest trying Handle or Procexp first.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/openfiles

C:\Windows\system32>openfiles /local /?  
  
OPENFILES /Local [ ON | OFF ]  
  
Description:  
    Allows an administrator to enable or disable the system global flag  
    'maintain objects list' which tracks local file handles. Changes  
    made by this switch will take effect only after restarting the  
    system.  
  
    Note: Enabling this flag reduces system performance.  
  
Parameter List:  
    /?                     Displays this help message.  
  
Examples:  
    OPENFILES /Local /?  
    OPENFILES /Local  
    OPENFILES /Local ON  
    OPENFILES /Local OFF  

Answer 2

Hello!
Thanks for the answer I assumed that it was because everything was local. I am starting to wonder if my users really listened and dont open any network shared files :)
Process Explorer did the trick!
Thanks :)