There have been many instances where a SharePoint timer job gets stuck somewhere, or it is paused or stopped. So, what is the resolution to this problem, to bring back the SharePoint timer job up and running?
The answer is clear the SharePoint Configuration Cache. And the file name is Cache.Ini. There is a timer job called “Config Refresh” that updates the cache on the SharePoint servers in the farm. Similar to the other caches, the config cache becomes obsolete over time.
Steps to Clear “Cache.Ini”
- Stop all the SharePoint timer services on all the front End servers before making the changesNavigate to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\<GUID>
(Please ensure that you enable to see all the hidden folders, because the Program Data may sometimes hide the folder)- <GUID> is the folder ID containing .xml files and the cache.ini file
- Make a copy/backup of the cache.ini file
- Delete all of the .xml files in the <GUID> folder
- Edit the cache.ini file, replacing the existing number with 1
- Save the cache.ini file
- Start all the SharePoint timer jobs
Clearing Cache.Ini would also resolve all the user synchronization problems as well.